The Signs
by chimongra
Summary: Her relations with the crew were simple: they were her friends, the ones she stood with and the ones she fought with. Until, of course, she gets the idea in her head that she might love one of them... and then things get a whole lot more complicated.
1. Complications

**Hello once again everybody! Sorry for the delay between stories- this plot-line actually took a lot more time to hammer out than I thought, and writing even more so.**

 **This is going to be longer than the Kanera arc and more of story-like thing, with plot and stuff, because you need these characters to _fall_ in love. Kanan and Hera... are already space-married, so that wasn't very hard to do. But this will be different than them, because... yeah. So the romance'll come in a little bit, and it'll be accompanied by an actual story. **

**Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: Bleegh- I have to do _these_ again. Bla bla bla, Disney owns bla, I own nothing bla bla, and Star Wars bla bla bla.**

* * *

"Spectre six, are you in position?"

" _Gimme a few seconds and I'll be right above the office_."

"Just make sure you're out of that office by the time we blow Spectre five's charges _._ "

" _Well, as long as she doesn't press the button when I'm still in here, we'll be fine._ "

"Just don't get blown up."

" _M'kay. Hey, Spectre five? Do me a favor and uh, please don't blow me up. Happy, one?_ "

Kanan shook his head, sighing just ever so softly. Sabine smirked a bit, slightly tempted to call back to Ezra and give no certain guarantee that she _wouldn't_ blow him up- however, comm-chatter was restricted to important mission-related information, not just messing around. Though pretty much everything Ezra said was messing around, something that both Kanan and Hera had tried to suppress especially for this one mission. After all, the ventilation shafts tended to echo a lot.

She and Kanan were standing outside the west wing of a mining complex; priorly owned by a private business until the Empire confiscated it for themselves just a day ago. Currently, there wasn't a single citizen soul inside of the base. When the bucket-heads had claimed the facility, there had only been the barest of security set up; a camera here and there on the walls was all. For the installment of their necessary security measures to take place, policy dictated that there be an Imperial-only presence on the base-

Which the _Ghost_ crew was using to their advantage. Solely bucket-heads meant they could do as much damage as necessary to the base without hurting the civilians, something they refused to do. And, of course, they were using her newest prototype to do so. It hadn't been easy or painless in any way, but Sabine'd managed to nearly triple the force of her strongest grenades, making them the perfect tools for demolishing Imperial mining facilities.

She and Kanan had gone around, sneakily placing them on the western side of the base in the dark cover the night provided, planting carefully measured and distributed bombs on critical support sites and vehicles while Zeb and Hera had done the same on the east. Ezra, the smallest, had been assigned (well, forced into, really,) infiltrating the ventilation, to place several miracles in the intersections as he went along to their _second_ target-

The apparently 'useless' archives, where the locations for the shipments of ore were stored. With that information downloaded, Hera would be able to give Fulcrum the positions of Imperial building sites, which could then be hit and raided as well. Since the entire mining facility here would be destroyed, the Empire would naturally assume that _everything_ had been destroyed, including any and all information they had. That way, Fulcrum would be able to attack the drop-off points without the Imps having any warning.

All Ezra needed to do was get over to the archives (which shouldn't be heavily guarded), download the data into the chip they'd given him, and make his exit. Then Sabine would blow the whole place to smithereens, and they would fly away to signal Fulcrum-

" _Oh karabast-_ _Don't say anything._ "

The hushed whisper over Ezra's comm made both her and Kanan look at the little device in alarm. If they were supposed to maintain radio-silence with him, that meant there was someone directly below him who would hear his comm go off in the vents. He'd said he was almost to his target, so there shouldn't have been any problems...

" _You two stay in here until the commander decides what to do with you. And don't try any funny business- we're watching you._ " The filtered voice of a bucket-head wafted up from Kanan's comm, along with the faint hissing of a door opening and closing in rapid succession. Noting that Ezra still wasn't making a sound, both she and Kanan refrained from speaking either, though Sabine could tell they were both tempted to tell the teenager to turn the darned thing _off_. Of course, he might not be in a position to reach his comm silently at the moment...

" _I can't believe- the_ nerve _!_ " A middle-aged man's voice buzzed through the comm, slightly muted because of distance. A second, younger guy spoke as well, calmer and seemingly resigned, " _Hush, dad. We knew they'd do something like this, it's not really a surprise._ "

" _But to throw us so undignified into- what, a-an office?! I've been working at these mines for over thirty years, and even you've been here a few- what gives them the_ right-"

" _Power, dad, they kind of_ are _the government. Come on, just sit down; they'll send someone in eventually._ " Further grumblings filtered in through Ezra's comm, and Sabine guessed they'd taken residence in chairs of some sort. After a few tense seconds, hesitant and stilted crackles echoed out, which they took to mean as Ezra carefully and silently moving his comm into a position where he could talk as silently as he could. Seconds later, they were proved right when he half-whispered half-breathed,

" _Civilians. Right next to the data-bases. Active cameras. Trooper on door guard-duty outside._ "

Kanan frowned, his eyes narrowing, and Sabine cast a nervous glance at the facility behind them. They couldn't blow the base, not with civilians in there, and it looked like Ezra wouldn't be able to make his exit until they left- which could easily take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours. And there was a _lot_ of explosive firepower in there...

"Give me a minute..." Kanan closed his eyes, formulating a course of action, while Sabine ran through any and all possible solutions. Their objective had changed from getting Ezra and the data-chip out, to getting Ezra, the data-chip, _and_ the _civilians_ out before blowing up the base, which understandably threw a wrench in things. After all, the two men wouldn't be able to fit in the vents with Ezra and sneak out with him, nor did Sabine think they'd be willing to follow the commands of just a random teenager. They had to get out in a manageable way, without drawing bucket-head attention, getting caught, or alienating the civilians...

Mumblings that indicated more conversation was occurring between the man and his father in the base continued to punctuate the silence for a minute or two, until Kanan's eyes snapped open. "Sabine, comm Hera and tell her to go back with Zeb and get the _Ghost_ ready for a quick fly-by pick-up. I've got something in mind, but we might need a snappy exit afterwards." She nodded, already pulling up Hera's frequency on her wrist screen. Kanan began talking as softly as he could into his comm, hopefully laying out a plan that'd get them out with minimal damage.

"Spectre two? We've got a bit of a problem."

" _What happened?_ " Hera was quick to answer as always, leaving Sabine to guess she and Zeb had finished their side of the base as well.

"Six is above the office, but there are two civilians below him and a bucket-head out the door, with cameras. Spectre one's cooked up a plan, but he says we might need a speedy withdrawal afterwards."

Sabine could hear Hera's sigh, and something that sounded an awful lot like Zeb chuckling in the background. " _Sounds about right. We finished a little while ago; we'll make our way back, but pick you up_ only _if_ _you absolutely need it. We still want to pull this off with some stealth, alright?_ "

"Got it- Kanan, she's on her way." Kanan nodded, apparently finished telling Ezra what he'd needed to, and held the comm outwards a little from his face as to not transmit any breathing noises. He half-turned to Sabine, still keeping his eyes on the little device in case any sounds of imminent chaos were broadcasted.

"Can you detonate the charges surrounding the power-grid?" Sabine blinked, recalling the layout of her charges in her minds eye, and shook her head.

"Not without causing a chain reaction and blowing the rest of the building along with them. And I specifically remember you telling Ezra _not_ to get blown up?" Kanan grunted.

"Then maybe just one of the lone vehicles that wouldn't do much damage besides that? It'd at least draw their attention away from the security feed in that room for a few minutes... preferably one on the eastern side, so the bucket-heads won't stumble into _us_ too quickly." After a brief second, she nodded. Yeah, that was easily doable. Kanan dipped his head, let out a breath, and whispered back into the comm, "Okay... six, you ready?"

A sort-of-affirmative grunt came through, and Kanan held up three fingers for Sabine. "Three... two... go!"

Sabine detonated the selected charge on her wrist-watch, and the faraway explosion of an ore-hauler set the entire base in motion.


	2. Mission Complete

**Sorry for the wait- social plans and registering for school got in the way a little.**

 **Fair warning- most of these chapters are going to be from Sabine's point of view, with Ezra chappies few and far between. It's not that I have anything against writing guys in a romance- it's just I have no idea how they start things, so I'll write the parts I _know_ how a guy would act in his view, and the rest that I don't in Sabine's. Plus the overall story kind of hinges on that style, so... :3**

 **Disclaimer: Why on Earth would I be resorting to FanFiction to fulfill my inner story-plots if I owned Rebels? Seriously, I have so many ideas in here I could practically do an entire season... and wouldn't _that_ be interesting...**

* * *

" _Okay... six, you ready?_ "

Concentrating in the half-meditative state that he was in, Ezra simply grunted quietly to signal he was. He could picture the two cameras in his head; one on the far wall, and one above the door-frame. All he needed to do was deactivate them...

" _Three... two... go!_ "

With a flick of his wrist and his mind, the cameras shut down, separated from their power lines. Sabine's distraction must have been big, because the two men- one of which had called the other by the name Tama -suddenly exclaimed, the chairs scraping on the ground as they sprang out of them and ran towards the window.

 _Wait just a bit_ -

The guard was gone. Not sensing anyone else in the hall, nor any warning in the Force, Ezra shimmied to the grate which he'd been just a few inches from. It popped open next to noiselessly, swinging down on two hinges and very nearly banging onto the metal roof. Taking advantage of the two men still being distracted by whatever Sabine'd blown up, Ezra slithered through the opening, landing crouched on the floor. They were both standing at the large window, where the remnants of one of the Mandalorian's signature bombs could be seen dissipating.

"Who in their right minds would attack a _mining_ facility?!"

"Full of stormtroopers as well- must be some desperate, tactless farmer who's gotten his hands on a few second-hand explosives." Ezra held his tongue, barely resisting the urge to snap that they had a definite tact _ful_ plan, and that the explosives used were _hardly_ secondary.

Instead, he padded to the computer terminals, pulling out the data-chip from one of his many hidden pockets, and plugging it in without a noise. He hoped to whatever deities there were that the transfer was fast, because he didn't want those two to turn around see him crouched over what was most definitely restricted equipment. While the absence of the trooper right outside the door meant an outburst from them wouldn't be heard, Ezra wasn't _that_ cocky. He just had to follow the plan...

"Or _her_ hands, Tama- you wouldn't want Eilene to hear you-"

"Implying that women don't work, I know." Ezra groaned internally. During the wait when Kanan and Sabine had been coming up with a plan, these two miners had been talking about nothing _but_ this 'Eilene', who was apparently Tama's wife. He'd learned more about this woman that he'd would ever, _ever_ have a desire to, and some sappy stuff from the old man about 'the signs of love.' Honestly, he'd have preferred silence.

 _Focus- 63% downloaded. Just keep looking at the pretty explosion for a few more seconds..._

"You know, sometimes she's as sweet as can be, but other times I swear she's as ferocious as a Gundark. Never lasts long, just enough to remind me that she does _not_ like to be babied..." The old man chuckled, and Ezra cast a nervous glance at the pair of them over his shoulder. He'd prefer _not_ being revealed to them hunched over a government terminal, obviously downloading secrets... while these two were clearly no supporters of the Empire, once again, he wasn't _that_ cocky...

 _Done_.

"That reminds me of how your mother was- she was wild, feisty... pickpocket once tried to run off with her credits, and ended up with a broken nose." Ezra smirked along with the younger, picturing both Hera and Sabine... they'd probably have the same reaction if someone tried to take away the hard-earned credits they managed to scrape by. Well, maybe not Hera, she'd probably just hunt them down and let the guy off with a warning... but Ezra feared for anyone that got on Sabine's bad side.

 _You're in a building infested with bucket-heads and bombs alike, and you're standing there grinning like an idiot. Brilliant._

Bracing himself for at least two cries of shock, Ezra stood up, pocketed the data-card, and cleared his throat. The two men whirled around to face him, Tama's hand flying to the blaster strapped to his hip, and Ezra raised his hands in a peaceful gesture.

"Easy- don't shoot, I'm most likely your best chance at survival right now." _Smooth, Bridger, smooth. Why don't you just go ahead and outright_ threaten _them while you're at it?_

"How in the devil did you-"

"Sneak in here without alerting either one of you? Probably the same way those 'second-rate' explosives were planted."

Both faces- Tama's smooth one and the old man's salt-and-pepper bearded one -quickly morphed from plain shock to shocked surprise. Tama's hands moved from his blaster to point instead at Ezra, brown eyes wide. " _You_ blew up that transport!"

"Uh, well, no, not really, but my friends di- listen, the bucket-heads aren't going to be distracted forever, and when the ones looking at the camera feeds realize that these two are disabled, they're gonna come in here guns-a-blazing, and I don't think they'll care if they hit you."

More shock and just a little terror crossed their eyes, and Ezra felt a flash of guilt at most probably horrifying these poor people. But he didn't really have time to explain the entire situation, especially when they were still reeling from his warnings. A small thought crossed the back of Ezra's mind that the old man might actually faint- old people did that, right?

"What- why are the cameras disabled?!"

"Uh..." ' _Because I can move stuff with my mind'_ didn't exactly strike Ezra as the right thing to say, so he settled for "Because I'm- a great hacker." Eh, that was mostly true. And as long as he could keep them from realizing he hadn't really been anywhere near a camera access panel, the excuse would hold.

"Listen- I know I just popped in from nowhere and you guys are probably _pretty_ shocked right now, but I need you two to trust me. We both need to get _out_ of here, because when the stormtroopers are done checking out the distraction my friends gave us, they'll turn their focus back to their camera controls- and probably put two and two together, realize _I'm_ in here, and throw a grenade in. I know for a _fact_ they won't think of killing you two as a loss." Oh karabast, where was Hera when you needed her? She at least had negotiating skills... Ezra suspected he was only making the situation worse with his cryptic warnings of doom.

The old man was still standing, though, so that was a good thing. Ezra wouldn't really be able to carry him out the building.

"So why are you here?" Tama asked, and Ezra looked the man up and down. The fact that his hand wasn't hovering near his blaster anymore told him he at least was following the dangerous picture Ezra was painting, which was _much_ better than not believing him at all. "I recognize you from the news- the Empire says you're a terrorist. So why are you warning us out?"

"Because I may be labeled a terrorist by the Empire, but I at least don't want you two blown to smithereens."

"...There are more bombs in this mine, aren't there." The old man sighed when Ezra gave a clipped nod, knowing he probably wouldn't be able to convince them of anything else, or get them out quickly with any other excuse. _Oh, how I wish Kanan would teach me that mind-trick thing..._

"Three generations my family's been working in this mine. Maybe even four, once Tama here gives me grandchildren." The young man grew flustered, but his father continued on. "And you're going to blow it all away, aren't you."

Ezra bit his lip, but he knew that with the Empire in control of this mine, they'd have access to far more supplies to build their ships with. This place had to be destroyed, or else thousands more would suffer. None of the crew liked robbing the miners of their work, but they liked the prospect of even more citizens being oppressed much, much less. This had to be done- for the greater good.

"We have to. But that doesn't mean you two should go down with it."

The old man sighed again, seemingly resigned to the idea. Ezra could appreciate how... _calm_ these folks were being, especially when he'd just popped in only a few seconds ago. That and, you know, being told the building they were standing in was full of bombs.

"Well, if you want us to get out of here, you're going to have to hack your way through the door, Mr. Terrorist. They locked it." Tama supplied, and Ezra cast a glance at the blast doors before turning a cheshire grin to the both of them.

"Oh, did you think I meant leaving _that_ way?"

The two blinked at each other, then the geezer frowned over at him. "Well, yes, actually, you weren't?"

"No _way_. This place is crawling with bucket-heads, and they won't take too kindly to me walking around with you two. No- we're going out a different way- much more fun."

Ezra pulled his lightsaber off his belt, leveled it between Tama and his father, and shot the window behind them. Sometimes Kanan's plans worked out alright, he guessed.

* * *

"There- I see them." Sabine pointed a gloved finger over at the far side of the complex, where the shadowed figures of Ezra and two older men could _just_ be seen hopping through a window. That was good- within a few seconds they could get out of here and back to the _Ghost_. Maybe Hera's pick-up wouldn't be necessary after all.

"Great- though I think the search party's gonna get here faster than they do." That was not so good. While not un-expected, the bucket-heads had sent out the guards to do a search of the perimeter, to try and find the culprit that'd bombed their ore-hauler. Both she and Kanan had retreated a little ways the the outskirts of the mine, just outside the western gate. It _had_ been guarded before by two bucket-heads, though some quick and hushed blaster shots had taken them out when they'd started their operation. The two were still out cold, which let Sabine and Kanan station themselves at the gate to wait for Ezra and the two civilians.

"They're making good enough time, but they'll definitely get here after the bucket-heads. Though they're a little slow... I think one of the civilians might be in his older years." Kanan grunted, his eyes straining to see in the dark what Sabine's helmet's night vision gave her a clear view of. The three of the silhouettes were making their way across the grounds, but Sabine switched her gaze back to the search party.

She'd kept close tabs on the group of eight ever since they'd come into her helmet's range, and they'd steadily made their way closer and closer to her and Kanan from the other side of the facility. They were just coming into unaided visual range now, and the way that Kanan suddenly stilled beside her told the Mandalorian that he'd spotted them as well.

"Maybe head in the guard's station and surprise them when they get close enough?" Kanan suggested, though Sabine shook her head.

"No- our only firing angle would be through the windows, leaving us essentially trapped in a square room. I don't care how fast your fingers pull that trigger, eight against two in an enclosed space aren't good odds." Kanan hummed, then gestured with his chin towards the two ore-haulers just outside the gates.

"In-between and on top of those, ambush style?"

Sabine grinned. "Now you're talking."

The two of them snuck over to the two vehicles, which were directly in the path of the search party. The bucket-heads might even search inside the haulers... or plan to, anyway. As soon as all eight were close enough, both she and Kanan would take them out- as quick and silent as they could. Sabine jumped onto the top of one, briefly considering hiding in the vehicle's open-box bed for the ores. She quickly shot down the idea. While it'd be perfect for _hiding_ , the high walls would hide the stormtroopers from her vision as well as it would hide her from theirs. She settled for crouching on the top of the vehicle, laying low as to not make an obvious silhouette. Kanan leapt atop the other, though the way he was crouched showed her he'd be jumping down for hand to hand as soon as the troopers were in range. That'd be fine- Sabine would stay up top, picking them off.

Sabine glanced over at Ezra and the two civilians, who still had some distance before coming up on them, and then drew her two pistols.

The eight troopers were a few yards away, and they naturally split between the vehicles. Two headed in-between, and three on either side. Standard separation tactic. Kanan picked himself up, then volleyed over the side of his vehicle to deal with the three that'd gone that way. Sabine aimed at the two in the middle, and fired as soon as she heard the first shot from Kanan's side.

With a shout, one of the troopers went down, the other only managing to turn around in surprise before she shot him too. Quickly turning to the other side, Sabine saw two soldiers running to the ends of the vehicle; directly into Kanan's waiting sights, and both he and Sabine shot them down.

 _Wait- weren't there three?!_

She whipped around just in time to see the third stormtrooper (who'd been smarter than his comrades and climbed up the hauler like her) level his blaster at her- and get shot down by a whizzing blue blast of energy.

Smiling under her helmet, Sabine holstered her pistols and turned around, seeing Ezra jog up to their ambush site still holding his lightsaber. "You're getting rusty, Spectre five- he almost had you!" She cocked her head, eyes on the two civilians as they came in behind Ezra, but responding anyways.

"I was going to shoot him a second after you were- I was just giving the poor bucket-head a chance." He snorted, coming up besides Kanan, cocking an eye at her in amusement.

"Eh- he would've missed anyways. You _know_ how bad their aim is." Sabine rolled her eyes, still observing the two miners behind Ezra.

Yeah, one of the citizens was an elder all right. Maybe middle-fifties, though Sabine couldn't exactly tell. She didn't know if Ezra'd gotten the data or not, though she doubted he would have left without it. He was too stubborn.

"Did you get out okay?" Kanan asked as Sabine jumped down, the two civilians watching her movements from behind Ezra. He threw his Master a sideways grin, and even in the dark his eyes were visible as they flashed.

"Course I did, Spectre one! You'd have heard explosions if I hadn't."

"If we heard explosions, you'd be dead."

"Oh- right."

Sabine shook her head, though Kanan settled for just a simple sigh as Ezra scratched the back of his head sheepishly. After all, there were two others in this little conversation of theirs. Turning to face the young man and his father, Kanan asked, not impolitely: "Is there anyone else you know of in the mine?"

It was the father who answered, and he sounded rather wary. "No. No, we were the only ones who returned, to try and get our mine back from them."

Kanan frowned. He looked at the two unconscious stormtroopers at the gate. "Those guards were supposed to stop anyone from getting in. And unless you two are a _lot_ faster than you look, you got in the base before we came. How-"

The youngest man stopped Kanan with a cheeky grin and a finger raised to his mouth. "We, ah, knew they wouldn't exactly _let_ us in, so we made our own entrance a little farther from here."

They blinked at him.

"Oh!" Ezra looked genuinely surprised, mouth making a little 'o' as it hung open. "Tama! And here I thought you two were loyal citizens!"

"Nah, I don't think anyone on Lothal is. Besides, didn't you say it was more fun to break the rules instead of follow them?"

"I was talking about going out the _window_ instead of the _door_ , but sure!"

"Spectre six, we have to go." Sabine didn't want to interrupt, but the absence of the patrol's reports would attract attention. If Tama and his father wanted to get out without being seen, they needed to leave now, as well as the Spectres. Not that they would be traveling together; this was probably the last time they would ever see these two miners. When they blew up their work-place. What a way to leave an impression.

"Yeah... yeah, okay. Um, you two might want to get a fair distance away from this place... in fact you should probably head back to the city. Maybe even move away, since the Empire might suspect you now... sorry." The old man sighed, then shook his head.

"Recruiting young, aren't you?" Kanan's jaw stiffened, and Sabine saw just the slightest tinge of regret in his eyes. "Still, I guess it's better than letting the Empire have their way with them... you lot just don't get caught. Kids don't need that kind of stress."

And on that note, the two parties nodded awkwardly to each other, then started out their separate ways. It was on top of a hill that Sabine, Kanan and Ezra stopped, and where she scoped out any signs that Tama and his father were still anywhere near the mine. Finding no trace of them, she brought up the controls to her little miracles, and hesitated.

They were destroying dozens of civilian's jobs... and saving hundreds of innocent lives. The cost was always worth it if it meant saving even just a single soul- and putting a dent in the Empire's mighty hide. Kanan pulled out his communicator, while Sabine waited for the go-ahed.

"Spectre two- turns out the pick-up wasn't necessary after all. We're heading to the landing site now."

Hera responded through the comm-link, but her voice was muffled and muted to Sabine as the wind picked up around them. Feeling the slightest twinge of regret, she pressed the activation button. A second later, there was a huge fireball coming from the direction they'd come from- signifying their victory and the base's destruction. Sabine imagined she could feel the heat from here, and she focused on the bright colors and patterns the fire and smoke twisted into in the night sky. Really, they were quite breathtaking.

"Come on, let's go." And they headed back to the _Ghost_ , the mine slowly smoldering behind them.


	3. Teasing

**Aaand this one contains a little Kanera, because it's cute, fits the situation, and surprisingly enough, will actually drive the plot forwards. I love it when love makes other love possible; it's just lovely, isn't it?**

 **Disclaimer: Not enough fluff. I can't own a series and NOT stuff it FULL OF FLUFF. Rebels isn't mine.**

* * *

"Here you are: one data-chip with all the recipients-to-be of the best sub-standard ores on Lothal." Hera smiled at Ezra, taking the proffered card with a raised eyebrow.

"The 'best sub-standard ores on Lothal?'"

"Well, you know. This was a civilian mine for a long time, so that tells you the Empire didn't have much interest in it for all those years. Maybe now they're starting a huge project or something?"

Kanan shrugged his shoulders, eying the chip Hera was inserting to the Dejarik board/information display. Honestly, they used the holotable for just about anything. "If they are, we'll find out soon enough where they're building it- and so will Fulcrum, once Hera makes her call." Their captain nodded absent-mindedly, scanning the data that came out and frowning just slightly.

"It's coded... not heavily, but basic information like shipping locations shouldn't even have this level..."

Sabine hummed, tucking her helmet underneath her arm and scanning the wavering text with a practiced eye. "It should only take me a minute or two to decode it, so it's no biggie."

"Yeah, but the fact remains that it _is_ coded in the first place..."

Zeb shrugged his massive shoulders. "Just means the info we got was more important to the buckets than we thought... which is a good thing." He moved out of the commons, most likely to his cabin. He never liked nighttime missions and he never would. And, knowing him, he wouldn't move from his mini-hibernation until the middle of the next day. Or when Chopper decided he would.

"Well, whatever's in there better be worth it. My heart did _not_ need that mini-attack when those guys came in..." Ezra sighed theatrically and plopped down onto the rounded bench, gripping the left side of his chest as though it pained him. Sabine smirked, while Kanan huffed.

"Oh, it wasn't _that_ bad. You could feel them coming, couldn't you?"

Ezra's playful pained expression turned sheepish. "Uh, yeah..." Kanan raised an eyebrow, prompting him.

"I'm sensing a but here."

"But I kinda wasn't paying attention, so they _may_ have caught me a _little_ off-guard." Kanan sighed while Hera smirked, attention momentarily taken from the data hovering in the air.

"Don't I always tell you to be aware of your surroundings?"

"Well, yeah, but at the time you were also distracting me by telling me not to get blown up."

"You act like that's a bad thing to say..." Kanan grumbled, and Ezra grinned widely at him.

"Well, it worked out in the end, right? We got the data, completed the op, and Tama can get back to his precious Eilene and have his father pester him for grandkids."

Sabine raised an eyebrow. "What, did they tell you their entire life-story as you were running for your lives?"

"No no no, not when we were running for our lives- when I was suspended up in the vents, waiting for Kanan to come up with a plan. And believe me, some of that stuff I did _not_ want to hear. Though bits of it were kind of interesting..." His grin grew mischievous, eyes volleying between Kanan and Hera.

"Like when the guy's dad was talking about the 'signs of _love._ '"

The way Kanan's face briefly contorted as he tried to mask his shock and keep his cool made Sabine partake in the wicked grin Ezra was displaying, half-tempted to go and drag Zeb out from bed so he could see what was obviously going to be an... _entertaining_ show.

"Well, that's nice, but I'm pretty sure that we need to follow Zeb's example and go to bed, so-"

"Ezra, what did you hear Tama's father tell him about love?" Sabine interrupted Kanan, smiling over at the smirking teen. He was obviously enjoying himself.

"Oh, quite a bit, Sabine. He said there were several key factors- and I can list them all to you right now, if you want."

"Nothing would give me greater pleasure." Sabine noticed Hera was suddenly very busy in deciphering the data again.

Ezra's smirk grew deeper. "Well, for one, you have to feel like 'there's no one else like them'. I don't know, a rogue Jedi gunslinger and a fiery Twi'lek pilot seem pretty unique, don't you think?"

Sabine chuckled. "Go on..."

"'You know each other inside and out, 'you trust and respect each other's abilities,' 'their boundaries are yours,' 'their pain is your pain,' 'you tell each other everything,' 'you keep each other safe,' 'not everything's perfect,' 'they know how to make you laugh,' 'you hate to see them uncomfortable in a serious situation'... I don't know about you, Sabine, but I think that all this _perfectly_ describes our captain and her favorit-"

"That's lovely, sweetie, but it's late. We should all head to our cabins." Hera interrupted, and Sabine chuckled loudly at the less-than-obvious conversation changer the Twi'lek employed. Ezra joined her, though she had a feeling it had more to do with the sudden look of relief that was hidden as soon as it came onto Kanan's face.

"But it makes Kanan so uncomfortable! Oh- wait-" He grinned again. "that's why it makes you nervous as well: 'their pain is your-'"

"Bed!"

Ezra shut up, but the grin was still there. Sabine's, too, but she didn't push them- Ezra had made his point. Kanan scowled lightly, frowning at his apprentice as he got out of the bench. "Why would making me uncomfortable be a _good_ thing?"

Ezra looked at his Master with a completely neutral expression. He looked at Sabine, her face mirroring his. They both turned to face Kanan, simultaneously saying, "Because it's funny to watch." Hera smiled. Kanan scowled. Ezra and Sabine giggled. Kanan turned a mournful look over to Hera.

"I think Chopper's finally brainwashed them, Hera."

The Twi'lek looked up, amusement dancing in her eyes. "Oh dear. Looks like we'll have to find _another_ bombs expert and vent-crawler, then. You know how volatile Chop can get- and if he's got these two under his control, we'll just have to replace them."

Kanan shook his head sadly. "It's a real shame, too."

"The only shame is that you can't admit you love each other!" And then Ezra ran from the room, his cackling echoing through the halls. Sabine snickered. Watching the disapproving look on Kanan's face blend with just a tinge of amusement. Just a dash.

"I am so going to make him regret that in training tomorrow..."

Sabine cocked an eyebrow. "I thought revenge wasn't the Jedi way?"

Kanan nodded. "Yeah, but neither is _that_ ," he shrugged in the direction of where Ezra had vanished. Sabine thought she heard a small chuckle from Hera.

"Yeah..." She couldn't resist. "And I thought loving wasn't either?" Sabine didn't say anything else, instead taking her chance to quickly- but calmly, collectedly, -walk out of the door, chortling when Kanan called out behind her,

"Not you too!"

Sabine distinctly heard Hera mumble, "Just be glad Zeb decided to go to bed now instead of hanging around."

"No, Zeb would let it go after a few days... those two are going to keep this up for weeks, I guarantee it."

"Yeah... oh well. I'll get Sabine to decode this in the morning, we should head to our cabins as well." The Jedi hummed in response. Sabine grinned, giving a high-five to Ezra- who'd not run to his bunk, as Kanan and Hera had assumed, but stayed just outside the door to listen to Sabine's further teasing.

"They are so totally space-married."

"You don't have to tell me, 'Bine, I can see it clear as day. And they're not wrong about being teased for weeks."

"Nope. I might even paint them something in the commons, just to taunt..."

"You should _totally_ do that- maybe with the water-proof paint so they can't clean it off?"

"Nah, then Hera'd clean over all my other works as 'discipline'..."

"Ah, can't have that happen. Then you'd be living in a colorless environment, which you obviously _can't_ do, so you'd have to start all over- which, of course, would take _days_ until you were content."

"You know me too well. 'Night, Ezra."

"'Night Sabine. I just hope I don't wake Zeb..." Sabine chuckled.

"I'll pray for you."

"Good- I might seriously need it..." They retreated into their respective cabins, though Ezra with quite a bit more caution than Sabine. She paused as the door closed behind her, looking around her room for a rare blank stretch of the wall before deciding to start on her sketching pads instead. She should probably be getting some sleep- but who in their right minds would sleep when they were _right on the edge_ of thinking up a beautiful master-piece? She smiled to herself. Ezra had opened up a whole different aspect of art for her- one that she _knew_ would drive Kanan and Hera insane.

But hey- that was what family was for, right?


	4. Maintenance

**And this is the chapter that the mental games begin! ...Although most of it is funny fluffy-bonding material. I've had an idea with the vents in my head for a loooong time now, and it just fit so perfectly here I couldn't help but stick it in.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I've been doing so many of these that whenever I read/hear the word 'disclaim' in any form I immediately start thinking about Disney owning Star Wars, no matter the context. It's... not been easy.**

* * *

It was late the next day when the crew was actively up and moving, as they'd allowed themselves to sleep in after their late-night mission. It didn't matter much, though. Hera's gotten orders from Fulcrum to stay put- they were going to be part in the strikes against the multiple shipping locations, and Hera's contact wanted them in one spot until everything was organized with a definite plan of action.

Which meant, with the absence of any jobs, they were doing maintenance.

It wasn't fun, but it was a necessary part of keeping their ship running. There had been so many modifications and tweaks to the ship that frequent maintenance stops were a required part of life, and it became the ever-constant chore. You were never bored on the _Ghost_ \- you either had something to keep you occupied, or you were doing some form of maintenance.

Ezra had actually lightened that particular burden _severely_ when he came aboard. With his... _lithe_ frame (he sulked when called short), he was able to sneak into the air-flow ducts, which gave him access to the various wiring inside the _Ghost_ 's mainframe. Before, they'd been forced to open up the entire ceiling, wall or floor in order to reach the wires, something that was time-consuming and most _definitely_ not fun for anyone. Especially when several of those panels had mysteriously been stuck together by large clumps of purple fur.

And while they still had to pull the paneling for the few areas Ezra couldn't reach, the workload in that particular field was greatly diminished. Though, while Sabine and the rest of the crew were much relieved once they'd realized this, one particular teen himself wasn't very pleased whenever asked by Hera to crawl into a particular space and mess about with the circuitry. He still did it, knowing it eased the burden on his friends as they were allowed to focus on other maintenance-worthy areas, though the complaint levels he'd display would rise significantly.

Currently, he was somewhere up above the cockpit, and Sabine could hear him shuffling around as she monitored the sensors displaying his progress with the turret controls. Hera'd noticed a slight delay between her pressing the trigger and the canons actually firing, so they had to be re-calibrated. When an automated calibration failed to make any difference, Ezra's been sent up to manually find out what the problem was and hopefully fix it. Sabine was stationed up at the scanners, watching the turret's stats to see if what he did changed anything.

"Well, there's definitely something in here." He called out, voice muffled through the metal barrier but still coming through legibly.

"What'd you find?" Sabine raised her voice to be heard as well, not taking her eyes off the screens and sipping her cup of caf. She'd stayed up pretty late designing her romance picture, so the beverage was sorely needed and appreciated.

"There's- something pressing down on the wiring; it looks like it's heavy enough to cause some jamming with the signals coming through."

Sabine hummed. "Can you get it out?"

"... I _should_ be able to... it looks like it might be-" He cut himself off with a yelp, making Sabine glance upwards with raised eyebrows. A moment before she was about to call out to him, the scanners pinged, flashing green to indicate the connection with the turrets had been re-established correctly.

"Did that work?"

Sabine resisted the urge to smirk, a small half-smile filtering through nonetheless. "Nah, the sensors are just having a field day over here because they like me. You alright?"

"Yeah..." She heard further mumblings, and was greatly amused with the mental image of Ezra crossing his arms in disgust while confined in a small metal duct. She was amused further when she realized that was very possible at the moment, considering the amount of musing going on up there.

"Did the big bad wires give you a big bad electric shock?"

"No!"

Sabine turned a raised eyebrow to the ceiling, not caring that he couldn't see it. A moment later, he grumbled, "It was the conduit pressing up against them."

She shook her head, chuckling slightly, and sipped more of her caf as Ezra clambered out from the open panel in the middle of the room. Looking just a little disgruntled, he nevertheless flashed her a cocky smile. "Mission accomplished, o' mighty Mandalorian."

"Excellent- now my plans for galactic domination are that much closer to fruition. With Chopper by my side, we shall rule the Galaxy, spreading fear and terror throughout the entire universe!" Ezra snorted, then swept into a low mock bow.

"As you wish, oh great and powerful one- and until that day comes, I shall remain by your side and re-connect every wire that comes your way."

"And protect me from all the shocking conduits that wish me harm?"

"Of course."

Sabine laughed, rising from the pilot's seat and heading out the cockpit. "Excellent. But first- we must tend to the wishes of our Twi'lek overlord, until that time comes when we dethrone her and claim her power for our own!"

"Do what now?" Hera peered from her open cabin door, apparently having finished tuning her sensitive communications equipment. Ezra pointed a dramatic finger at her from behind Sabine, determination and amusement alike blazing in his eyes.

"You shall be overthrown!"

Hera blinked, smiled, then morphed the smile into a smirk and leaned against the doorway. "Not until the shields get re-calibrated, I won't."

Ezra's head slumped down, his finger flopping slightly. Sabine laughed, knowing Ezra was doomed to crawl into yet another air filter and mess around with the wiring. Hopefully this time in the absence of any vengeful shocking conduits.

"I wouldn't be too quick to laugh, Sabine- the _Phantom_ needs some work on the ship-to-ship communications. The signal's fuzzy when connected to the _Ghost_ 's, and I don't want it to get worse." Sabine sighed, resigning herself to working for possible hours. At this rate, she wouldn't be able to paint her teasing artwork in the eating galley until it was late in the day... maybe even early in the next one. It was a good design, too, something that neither Kanan or Hera would be able to ignore and/or misunderstand. Nothing as cliché as a heart between them or anything... but something that was nonetheless pretty obvious in it's meaning.

Ah, poor Kanan... while Hera was doing rather well in the 'don't-give-a-reaction-and-they'll-leave-me-alone' department, Ezra was giving his Master absolutely _no_ breaks with the teasing. Which Sabine believed was part of the reason he'd been sent to go and deal with the turret connection anyways... to give Kanan a respite from all the jabs the teen was rather capable of delivering.

"Alright, I'm on it..." Hera smirked a bit as she and Ezra headed off, chuckling lightly to herself. As they left Sabine swore she heard the Twi'lek say,

"It's good to be an overlord..."

* * *

"Hey, Sabine!"

Popping out of the _Phantom_ 's maintenance hatch and wiping her sweaty brow, Sabine answered Kanan's call. "Yeah?"

"Do you have a minute to take a look at this?"

Glancing at her mostly-finished work in the _Phantom_ 's control panel, she re-connected the last circuit and smiled when the console flashed in recognition. Now done with the communications and general check-up of the excursion vessel, Sabine exited the docking port, heading towards the commons where Kanan was fiddling... with the Dejarik board.

"I'm thinking of rebooting the overall system, but there's a line of code in here that I don't _think_ is supposed to be." He looked up at her, thoughtful expression swiftly changing into an inquisitive raised eyebrow as he saw her 'really?' face. "What?"

"The Dejarik board? Really? I mean, I know we use it for more than just board games, but really?" He shrugged, standing from his crouched position and leaning against the holographic display table.

"Well, it needs to be done, and it shouldn't have taken more than a few minutes."

"Why didn't you just get Chopper to do it?" Kanan snorted, eyes rolling in the direction of the cockpit.

"Chop is re-calibrating his charging station on his own, apparently because he doesn't trust 'anyone but himself' to do it properly."

Sabine laughed, remembering the last time the little astromech had made the mistake of letting Ezra anywhere _near_ his charging port. Although Hera hadn't been very pleased either, _no one_ was more upset than Chop, and Ezra had actually had to take refuge in the _Phantom_ until the droid had calmed down. Apparently, it was a very, _very_ bad idea to rewire the charging station to drain power instead of give it. Though the fix had been an easy one (made, of course, by Ezra), since then the little astromech hadn't let anyone even _touch_ the darned thing, excepting Hera- who was currently up on the roof, doing some grunt-work with Zeb.

"Right, right. What kind of code did you need me to look at?" Sabine moved towards the Dejarik board, crouching in Kanan's earlier position and peering at the diagnostic screen he'd pulled up beforehand.

"Not exactly sure- it _looks_ like a standard code to connect the controls to the hardware, but everything necessary for that is already programmed in." Sabine hummed, her eyes catching the string of binary that looked out of place from the rest. Her eyes narrowed, trying to decipher it, and was interrupted by a familiar voice floating from the ceiling-

"It might be a back-up program in case the primary is damaged. Though why a _Dejarik_ board would need one I don't know."

"Hn. Maybe Hera put it in there because we use it more as an information display than a playing board?" Kanan responded, and Sabine nodded.

"Yeah, that's what this is looking like... yes, that's what it is. It only connects to the controls in the absence of anything else coupled to them. False alarm, Kanan."

The Jedi huffed, taking Sabine's place as she maneuvered out of the position she was crouched in and stretched. "I don't know how you cope with being up in the vents for this long, Ezra- just being in the _Phantom_ 's maintenance hatch absolutely _killed_ my back."

A harsh bark of laughter reverberated through the ceiling, followed by Ezra's slightly sarcastic reply: "Oh no, I'm absolutely _wonderful_ up in here, _believe_ me." Sabine grinned up at the top of the room, banging the area she knew a vent to reside in with the back of her hand.

"Hey, I'm just messing with you."

"Uh, no, you're not. You're messing with an empty vent next to me."

"Hm?" She could've sworn that was where his voice had been coming from... Narrowing her eyes, Sabine scanned the ceiling, internally mapping out the vents above her in her head. If she was wearing her helmet she could simply scan for the empty air pockets, but as it was in her cabin she had to make do with her memory alone.

Walking a few steps to her right, Sabine tapped the ceiling again, listening to the hollow ringing. It was definitely a vent... but from Ezra's cackling, not in the spot he was in. Scowling, Sabine honed in on the laughter, zeroing in on a spot just in front of her.

"Colder... you'll never find me at this rate!"

Sabine couldn't stop the grin. Oh, she'd find him all right, if it killed her. There were only so many air filters, after all... Sabine hit the underside of the ceiling again, cackling when she heard Ezra laugh in confirmation. A moment later, there was shuffling, and then Ezra's head popped out of the opening he'd crawled into the vents with in the first place. The way his hair flopped beside his face while upside down was comical, matching the grin plastered onto his face.

"Took you long enough!"

"Psh. I wasn't even trying!"

"Really? Well then let's see how fast you find me when you DO try, mighty Mando!" And he was off again, flipping his head back into the vents. Expecting to hear him shuffle to his next hiding spot, Sabine was momentarily surprised when she heard nothing. Well, it made sense- if he made that much noise on missions he'd've been found out almost instantly. Of course he was going to have some stealth while up in the vents.

Eyes once more glued onto the ceiling, Sabine tried thinking like Ezra, to try and figure out where he'd head next. She immediately moved towards her left, to the door to the eating galley, and tapped the space above the door connecting the two rooms. After hearing some dark chuckles, she switched her target to just a little behind her, instantly rewarded with the outcry of surprise that made her laugh.

"Looks like the might Mando has you all figured out, Loth-rat!"

"Oi! That's Zeb's name for me, not yours!"

She cocked an eyebrow at the ceiling, well aware that even if Ezra couldn't see it, he knew she was doing it. "Well, it's not just _his_ name for you, it's your secondary name!"

"Oh really?"

"Yup- Loth-rat's just who you are, kid."

"Ha! Could a Loth-rat hide in the ven- don't answer that." Sabine laughed, even harder when distinct grumbles reverberated through the thin metal sheets. Oh, the corners he drove himself into...

"Well, let's see how easy this 'Loth-rat' is to find when I give absolutely NO clues to where I am!" And then there was silence, save for the few giggles that still slipped out of Sabine. Oh, this kid was _on_ , and he'd soon be regretting ever challenging her.

Within thirty seconds, Ezra was stuck in the vents because he was laughing so hard he couldn't move. Apparently, her 'futile' attempts to find his spot were just that amusing... she sobered him up real quick when she found him immediately after he'd gotten into his next position.

Two more rounds had passed, and they were in the middle of their third when Sabine finally took notice of the other person in the room. She cocked her head and one eyebrow, smiling at him with a question while simultaneously tapping the vents above her, revealing Ezra's latest spot. "Yes?" She asked, still staring at him as Ezra's head popped out of the vent's opening.

Kanan stared at them. He blinked.

"Hide and seek. You're literally playing hide and seek."

Sabine blinked, turning a blank face to Ezra's upside-down one, and turned back to Kanan, frowning. "Noooo! Hide and seek and tag and all that stuff is for kids- Ezra and I are just honing our skills for missions." Ezra nodded, hair bobbing oddly as he did so.

"Yeah- I mean, who knows when I'll be stuck in the vents and one of you has to come find me? If we don't practice, I may never be found again!"

Kanan rubbed his eyes with his hand, standing up from under the Dejarik table and staring both Sabine and his Padawan down with a raised eyebrow and a practically invisible smile. "You were getting up on my case for rebooting the board, and now you're playing a kid's game?"

"We're not playing a kids game!"

"Yeah- we're training!" Sabine backed Ezra up, firmly believing in what they were saying. All the same, she couldn't help but to also firmly believe in Ezra's next plea,

"Just don't tell Hera." And then, of course, his face turned into one big, upside-down mischievous grin. "Although, I guess I can't ask that from you... after all, 'you tell each ot-"

"Finish that sentence and you'll be stuck up in those vents for a loooong time." Ezra narrowed his eyes, sizing up crossed-arms-Kanan. Seemingly finding him serious about his threat, Ezra flipped out of the hole, swaying slightly as the blood returned from his head to the rest of his body. Sabine grinned as Kanan nodded, content with the way he'd handled the situation.

"Now come on, we'd better go and ask what's next to update." Sabine shook her head, prompting both Kanan and Ezra to raise an eyebrow at her.

"You two go on ahead. I've got to switch out my own air filters in my room- the paint fumes are beginning to get a little thick."

"Why don't you just have me do it?"

Sabine grinned at Ezra. "Because, Loth-rat, it's sensitive equipment, and from the looks Kanan's giving you, you'd better go with _him_ instead." Ezra smiled tentatively at the frowning-yet-still-just-barely-smiling Kanan, who nodded his head.

"Yup- you and me both are going to get the next assignment from Hera, because _I_ for one don't want to incur her wrath by messing around." He turned and headed towards the door to move up topside, but before he fully left the room, Ezra leaned over to Sabine.

"I'm sensing some dominance issues here, how about you 'Bine?"

She could have kept her laughter in. She really could have. It would've been a challenge, yeah, nevertheless she still could've done it.

But the way Kanan's head just slowly turned to face Ezra's, eyes narrowed and mouth open as though he was still deciding what words to rebuke with made keeping her laughter to herself impossible. Ezra bounded out with a grin, quickly overtaking Kanan out the door before the Jedi could make a move, leaving Sabine to very nearly collapse on the floor. This was priceless...

"One of these days, every tease and prank that kid ever pulled will come back to bite him in the rear, I swear it." Sabine grinned at Kanan, still giggling, and shrugged.

"I don't know, they haven't so far and he's _really_ good at dodging everyone else's..." Kanan just sighed, shaking his head and moving out the door and towards the ramp that'd lead him up to the top of the ship.

Wiping the tears of laughter from her eyes, Sabine moved to follow him out the door and to her room when she stopped, frowning.

 _'they know how to make you laugh...'_


	5. Market Trip

**Alright- this one's a bit longer than the others, though to be honest I think most of the chapters after this one are gonna be pretty long. Meh. As long as you guys like 'em, I'll keep on makin' em.**

 **Disclaimer: Honestly, the only things I think I own in these stories are my original characters: a middle-aged miner, his father, and staring today, a six year old. And they're not even real.**

* * *

"Okay- everyone know the drill?"

"Same as always- don't do something stupid." Zeb grumbled, answering Hera's question as she smirked at him.

"And yet I always have to remind you two." She gave both the Lasat and Ezra a pointed look, causing both to cross their arms with a pout. Sabine smiled before it slipped off her face rather quickly. That'd been happening pretty much all night, and the entire morning while Hera was briefing them.

 _So what, he makes me laugh- so does Zeb! And Kanan, even! And Chopper! So what it's one of 'the signs?' Just because he makes me laugh doesn't mean..._ that _. If it did, I'd be 'in love' with everyone who could tell a joke._

Still. No matter her reasoning, she found the thought rather distracting, in the most in-opportune of times. Like when Ezra'd smirked at her as Kanan had made fun of 'hide and seek' in front of Zeb. Or when Ezra told an innocent joke in the eating galley that made Sabine chortle through her caf. Or when Ezra'd very nearly went on a rampage with in the early morning after Chopper's alarm clock protocols. Or when Ezra... did anything, really.

The thought was basically continuously running through her head, and Sabine found herself second-guessing everything she or Ezra said or did in the presence of one another, almost searching for a hidden implication or second meaning. As expected, such a thought pattern was _rather_ troublesome when the two of them lived on the same ship. And expected to participate with their full attention on the debriefing.

Fulcrum had sent them the coordinates for the shipping center they were supposed to hit. Their target was still on Lothal, but since there were a number of those that weren't, Fulcrum had given them orders not to hit the base until a week from now, in order to give the other operatives time to get into position so they could all strike at once. Taking the opportunity to restock on their supplies before their mission, the _Ghost_ crew was going on a shopping trip. Hopefully without any disaster ensuing in the process.

"That's just because I'm a magnet for trouble! It comes to me!"

"Don't I know it, kid." Ezra glared at Kanan, who was staring up at the sky almost wistfully. Sabine smirked, and then went back to her neutral face immediately after. She scowled.

 _Stop shutting down! We're friends, and I have no reason to act like a silly love-struck_ child _. Sheesh, pull yourself together. And you call yourself a Mandalorian..._

"Focus, boys... everyone know what they're getting?"

"Gee, I don't know Hera, I mean, with these _incredibly detailed_ lists? And the _half an hour_ brief beforehand? I'm not sure I do, would you care to repeat everything? Again?" Zeb chuckled at Sabine's teasing, at which Hera simply sighed, lekku swaying ever so slightly.

"Just be discreet, and don't get into too much trouble."

Ezra grumbled slightly as he made his way off of the ramp, following Kanan, Zeb and herself as they headed into Central from the docking station they'd landed in. Honestly, if they didn't try to kill her, the crew, and ruin millions of innocent lives, Sabine would have felt bad for the Empire. It was _way_ too easy to get past their security... though with the _Ghost_ 's signal scrambler, they had it easier than most. Still. With only minimal hassle (which, to be honest, mostly came from Chopper), the four of them were able to walk around Central nearly carefree, while Hera remained to finalize some of the modifications they'd made during their maintenance day.

 _Now, where's the best place for these coupling links?_

* * *

"You know, when Hera said this trip shouldn't take more than a half hour, I actually thought she might have meant it." Sabine mused, looking up at the sun and sorely wishing she was back in the cool interior of the _Ghost_.

Zeb tutted beside her, his arms currently occupied with the various stacks of rations he'd been sent out for. And those were the _only_ things he'd been sent out for. Apparently, since he was the one with the brute strength, he was the only one sent out for food... and since food was a _rather_ easy item to come by and purchase, of course he'd be done first. Sabine, meanwhile, still had yet to make a _dent_ in her list, comprised as it was of complex mechanical bits that required inspired searching to find.

"Rookie mistake Sabine. You should know better than to trust her estimates for shopping."

Sabine huffed, re-adjusting the hip pouch she'd brought to store the pieces she did manage to find while looking for the others. It was despairingly devoid of parts at the moment; she'd only managed to find the coupling links and the backboard circuitry required from her portion of the shopping spree. She still had a long ways to go before she'd be able to return to the ship.

"When you reach Hera, tell her that if I'm not back by evening it's because I've collapsed from the heat and the freaking _impossible_ list she gave me."

The Lasat chuckled, waving his hand as best he could while still maintaining his grip on the food containers, and then walked through the crowd, heading back to the landing pad. Oh, what a lucky creature he was...

Sabine scowled, shielding her eyes with one hand and pulling up her list by the other. She knew the contents by heart now, and it was only habit that made her keep pulling it up to read. _Come on, Central city is an industry center! Shouldn't there be more tech than this?_

Sabine sighed, squinting her eyes and scanning the market square around her, spying for another shop or store that could help her. Most of them, of course, were civilian needs: clothing, food stuffs, entertainment... there had to be at least _one_ tech shop around somewhere. No town would be complete without some tech, and when tech and people were combined, there were shops-

Like that one on the corner of the street.

Grinning at her success in locating a proper store for the things she needed, Sabine started towards the shop, sweeping her sweaty hair out of her eyes in the process. Maybe she'd be lucky and they'd have a functioning cooling unit inside... most places did, right? Yeah- and it'd only make _sense_ for a _tech_ shop to have a working one inside...

Already imagining the cool air playing around with her colored bangs, Sabine barely noticed the blur barreling towards her before it was almost too late. She only _just_ managed to twist to the side, allowing what she recognized to be a small female human child to rocket past her and into the small crowd. The only problem was, she wasn't the only person running.

With an impact that knocked the breath out of her, one Ezra Bridger barreled straight into Sabine. They didn't fall- both his Jedi and her Mandalorian reflexes took care of that, but they stumbled around for a bit, each grasping the other's forearms as they 'danced' around. A moment later, when Sabine was still struggling slightly to comprehend and adapt to the situation, the two of them stabilized. Ezra gave her a huge grin.

"Hi."

Sabine blinked at him, and realized he'd grown an inch or two. Well, not _realized_ , such a thing would've been impossible not to notice when they lived in the same ship as one another- but now she was putting that observation into words (thoughts) and it felt... odd. He was still shorter than her, but maybe in half a year they'd be the same height...

"Oh! Um, sorry!" Ezra backed off _real_ quick, and it was then Sabine realized that the two of them had been _rather_ close together. While she just kind of felt a little amused and still a little weirded out by his sudden appearance, the Jedi in training- he who should show composition and dignity at all times -was scratching the back of his head sheepishly. Sabine smirked at the awkwardness he showed before that smile slipped off her face as well.

" _...their boundaries are yours..._ "

 _No no no nononono_ **no** _, you're not going down that rabbit hole. You're_ not _going into freak mode just because he knows when to back off._

"Why in the worlds were you running at light-speed?!" Yeah; steer the train of thoughts _away_ from the conflicting mass of weird distractions, that was probably best. And she was actually perplexed about his behavior.

"Oh!" Ezra's sheepish expression melted off as his eyes went wide and blank. He turned his head towards where the little girl had disappeared to- only for the both of them to be met with the sight of the child directly behind him.

It was odd seeing someone shorter than Ezra.

"Why did you stop?" Her brown eyes were pulled down in annoyance, her mouth set in a pout matched by the drooping bun of blond hair on her head. She couldn't have been older than six, making Ezra's chase of her even more confusing. Though, Sabine doubted it was actually a serious 'chase' if the child had come back asking why he 'stopped.'

Ezra blinked, then smiled widely at the girl. "Sorry Kavra, I just bumped into one of my friends." The little girl, Kavra, turned her grumpy pout over to Sabine, looking up and seemingly judging her. Sporting a small smile, Sabine still turned back to Ezra with inquiring eyes.

"Sorry- me and Kavra were... um,"

"Tag!"

Sabine looked at Kavra again, amused to see her looking up at Ezra with a determined smile. Looking. _Up._ At Ezra. It was so weird.

"Well, no not rea- yes, yes we were." He switched tactics abruptly when the child's eyes underwent change rapidly, going from a happy care-free look to a watery one in seconds. Sabine laughed. Watching Ezra handle... _toddler_ was interesting, seeing his snarky comebacks and cocky façade go and hide in some desolate corner as to not upset the six-year-old. That and, of course, he had been playing _tag_.

"Tag? I thought tag was a game for little kids." Ezra looked at her defiantly, pointing a finger at Kavra.

"I'm in the presence _of_ a little kid, so it's fine!"

Kavra giggled, holding her hands up to her face and laughing into them. Sabine spared the little girl a small smile, before turning it to Ezra and making it slightly sarcastic. "You were still playing tag. What about your list?"

"Oh, that thing?"

"Yes, _that thing_ , the one that Hera sent you out to shop for. Did you finish already?" Guessing from the sheepish grin that accompanied Ezra's hand scratching the back of his head, that was a negative.

"Shopping is boring! Tag is better!" Kavra looked up at Sabine, her lips tugging downwards as if shopping was the worst thing in the world. Sabine shook her head, grinning, and Ezra huffed at her.

"I'd like to see you say no to a little kid like her..."

Sabine hummed, winking at Kavra and turning back to face Ezra. "I'd love to show you just that, but _someone_ has to be the responsible person and get their list done. Just make sure she gets home safe!"

Ezra scoffed as Sabine turned and headed towards the gear shop once more, raising his voice to be heard above the Lothal market crowd. "As if I'd just leave her alone!"

Sabine smiled discreetly, but it was slightly sad.

 _No, no you wouldn't leave her alone. You wouldn't leave anyone alone- not like that. Not ever._

* * *

It was, luckily, cooler once Sabine had gotten all the mechanical parts on her list and had begun to head back. As the sun began descending into evening and the winds turned cooler, Sabine _very_ much enjoyed the breeze as she strolled back to the _Ghost_ in the hangar bay.

And when she was able to take off the belt holding the pieces, proudly displaying it towards the awaiting Twi'lek, that was just an added bonus. While her armor wasn't exactly cooling her skin underneath, the belt had just been adding an extra layer of _uncomfortable_ to her outfit. Seriously, was the thing made of bantha-hide? Because there was nearly nothing else that would cause that much heat to get trapped underneath it.

"Welcome back Sabine- what took you so long?" Sabine cocked an eyebrow at Hera as she handed over the pouch with the gear.

"The apparent lack of just about everything on this list, that's what. There was barely a single store that _properly_ sold any of this stuff, and I had to go hunting just to find them." Hera smiled slightly, leku twitching in amusement. Sabine might not be an expert in Ryll, but she knew a few signs here and there.

"Well, we can hardly blame the people for placing their needs first. Besides, I think you like shopping a little more than tuning the new responders Kanan got."

Sabine grumbled. "I'd prefer just about anything than walking around aimlessly..."

"Hey-o!"

The two of them turned to welcome Ezra back onto the ramp, his list apparently finished as he pushed a repulsor-crate in front of him. Suddenly, she was rather glad that all her items were small and able to fit into her little belt pouch. She didn't envy pushing around a great big storage box through the markets. Although Sabine noticed he did _not_ seem to be sweating as much as her, which irked her greatly.

"Good to see you finished too- that's everyone now. Did you get the extra charging cartridges? We need those."

As Ezra pulled a blank face, Sabine reached over and dug in the belt-pouch she'd just taken off. "Karabast- hold on, I'll run back and go get-"

"-these?" Sabine stopped Ezra mid-step _and_ mid-sentence, a rare and nearly unachievable feat as she pulled out the aforementioned charging packs. Ezra smiled at her goofily, scratching his head again.

"Thanks Sabine, you're a lifesaver!" She shrugged, dropping the batteries back into the pouch and handing it over to a pleased Hera.

"They were on your list- and what with how... _distracted_ you were, I figured you might forget them."

Ezra's eyes lit up, apparently remembering something, and not even a moment later he dug into the open crate before him. Sabine smiled as he retrieved a full package of her blue spray-mix. She caught it as he tossed it over to her, affirming it was her usual brand with a glance before nodding her thanks. Hera cocked an eyebrow at them both, and Ezra shrugged.

"Sabine usually resorts to her green and purple combos when she's out of blue, and since it was on my way back I just figured she'd appreciate it."

Sabine laughed. "So, you remember what kind of explosive paint I'm out of, but not to check the list for an important item we need?"

"Wha- hey, it was like you said, I was distracted!" Sabine grinned at his fake scowl, for the moment ignoring the amused smile on Hera's face as she headed further into the bowels of the ship and to the fresher.

"I just know you too well, Bridger!"

" _you know each other inside and out..._ " Sabine very nearly tripped going over the ramp as the unwanted thoughts returned to her head. Though her body didn't fall down, her brain did. Yet another one of these 'signs of love' that fit both her and him-

 _Hey, we're just good friends. Seriously, none of this stuff makes any difference between us, so stop freaking out every time!_

"You okay there?"

"Perfectly fine- just still reeling over the fact that you were playing _tag_ with a six year old."

* * *

 _Stop. Thinking. About. Him._ It was a mantra by now, an endless cycle of thought, each word matching her steps and actions to the point where she pressed the controls for the fresher in the same pattern as the chant.

And it still wasn't really working.

Because now that the thought that there was a _slight_ chance she _might,_ just _possibly_... have... _feelings_ for...

 _Stop. Thinking. About. Him._

She tried focusing on the soothing sensation of the sweat and grime being washed away. She tried focusing on the slightly tamer decorations in the fresher, tried focusing on designing more art pieces to liven it up. None of it was working.

Honestly, up until now, Sabine hadn't even given... well, _love_ much of a thought. It was something ordinary people did- ordinary people who lived ordinary lives and didn't risk being killed every other week. Who didn't rebel against the overlords that called themselves the Empire. Love was just... foreign, to her. She didn't want it, didn't need it, and so, didn't think about it.

Until, of course, she'd noticed a similarity between that foreign concept and her relationship with... him. And since then, though she'd tried her best to suppress these kinds of ruminations, they'd continued on in the back of her head, brought up to the surface every time she noticed another similarity between the two of them. And now... those repressed thoughts weren't allowing themselves to be repressed anymore. Regardless of her say in the matter.

 _Stop. Thinking. About. Him._

Sabine sighed, well aware that she was perfectly clean and was just wasting energy at this point. She couldn't spend the rest of the day in the fresher to sort out her issues, much as she would have liked to. Besides, acting oddly would just concern the crew... and Sabine honestly didn't know how she would react to Ezra worrying over her when her mental situation was so jumbled up.

Probably with more sessions in the fresher.


	6. Under the Night Sky

**Righty ho- one of the longer chapters, I must say, but one of my favorites as well. I enjoyed writing Sabine in this one, if only because I was able to unleash a creative side I'd never seen before. Also- her backstory here is completely fictional, made up by yours truly.**

 **Disclaimer- Maybe one day, this franchise will belong to me... Sadly, however, Disney is _wisely_ keeping me away from it. There would be... much more mature content in here than there is now, one that would _probably_ lose the younger audiences. Wise move Disney, wise move.**

* * *

All of her normal strategies weren't working.

Usually, when Sabine had something on her mind that she didn't want to think about, she had a variety of exercises that helped her out with ridding the intrusive thought from her immediate consciousness. Painting was one, obviously. And it hadn't worked. Sabine had even started preparations on her masterpiece of Kanan and Hera in the galley, prepping the walls for their new coats of paint and beginning to shade- but she'd had to stop, because she couldn't very well focus on her art when her thoughts were completely taken up by... recent events.

One of her other distracting techniques was to produce her signature explosives- something that Sabine had to do anyways, and usually helped her not think of anything but the volatile explosives in her hands.

She'd had to stop _that_ when she'd tried to open the brand new canister of blue paint Ezra had bought her.

Even heating one of their blue milk canisters and drinking it, in an attempt to get drowsy and simply sleep through her thoughts, had no effect. This was starting to be ridiculous. It was late- not just late late, but _late_ late. It would be tomorrow pretty soon. But Sabine couldn't sleep, couldn't even begin to _try_ to sleep- her head was buzzing too loudly with thoughts about... that.

Sabine had resigned herself to pulling an all-nighter maybe a standard hour ago. However, she couldn't- didn't _want_ to think about her relationship with... him. It was too complicated, too... ugh.

 _Ezra is my friend. He would be crazy not to do some of the stuff he does._ _Because he... loves me?_ _No! No, because I'd sock him if he did anything else! He's... my friend._

 _So why in the world can I not stop_ thinking about this _?_

Sabine had also given up on her mantra of 'don't think about him,' because that wasn't working either. It was a constant nag, an itch in the back of her head that continued growing, no matter how hard she ignored it. This was one particular itch that _needed_ to be scratched...

Sabine groaned, planting her head on the Dejarik board as the back of the commons' bench no longer became a suitable headrest. It was cold in the _Ghost_ \- Hera always kept it cold, to avoid infrared detection and a few other reasons. However, it was affecting Sabine rather strongly now, since she was dressed in nothing but her night clothes. Usually, the cold wasn't a problem at this time of night-

 _Because I'd be_ asleep _, not staying up until an unholy time of day trying to avoid my issues_.

Though, as her experiments had proven, sleep was pretty much an impossible task at the moment. Sabine picked up her head from the table, rubbing her temples in an attempt to soothe the whirlwind of thoughts battling for attention. She shivered slightly, rubbing her arms and wishing her top had full blown sleeves instead of the loose half-upper arm deal she had going on with this one. Her legs, as well; the short- well, _shorts_ -were... short. And not suited to the cold without the thermo blanket from her bunk wrapped around them.

 _That's it. If I'm going to sit around trying to stew in my thoughts, I'm doing it somewhere I_ won't _freeze to the seat._ Although, with the temperature uniformly cold throughout the entire ship, that really didn't leave her much choice except up top. Which was fine, really, because after their market trip Hera had relocated to one of their standard parking spaces- the middle of nowhere, Lothal.

If they had still been grounded in the docking area, there was _no way_ in the nine hells Sabine was heading out in just her night clothes- those bays had security cameras, and she did _not_ fancy being ogled by an Imperial security guard.

Picking herself up from the bench, Sabine headed towards the ramp, opening it and clambering atop the ship with all the grace of a stressed, tired, emotionally compromised tooka. There wasn't much, really.

It was beautiful out- the light pollution was minimal, since they were quite aways away from Central city, letting the stars around them shine with intensity and brightness rarely seen in heavily populated areas. The dazzling pinpricks of light glittered in the endless belts of blue and black... Lothal's nights were never completely black, for which Sabine was glad. The tints of blue and navy added enough color to entrance her with the complexity at which they interwove in the sky- there were individual streaks and swirls of bue, and there was blue intertwining with the blank inkiness of the night, mixing and spiraling together until they formed a dark, dark navy that was neither blue nor black. Through it all, countless stars sparkled, adding tiny specks of white light to the otherwise darkened sky. And then- there were the moons.

One large, one small, they were easily the brightest objects in the atmosphere. Huge and luminescent, the light from them illuminated the entire plains in a soft white glow. They brightened the dark around them in the sky as well, turning the inky blues and blacks into a softer pallet of colors around their edges, which gradually faded back into the darker colors with distance. The two of them were the centerpieces of the sky, with the blacks and blues highlighting and contrasting their light and the stars accentuating and complimenting it. It was... _amazing_. There was really no other word for it.

 _Maybe I should use_ this _as the background for the galley painting..._ She would have run back inside to grab her holorecorder, to capture the beauty of the night forever, but she refrained. It would _never_ be able to do this wonderful sight justice; she'd just have to commit the sight before her to memory and pray to whatever deities there were that she'd be able to reproduce something this... beautiful.

 _Huh... some of the strains look exactly like Ezra's hair_...

Aaaand there went her momentary relief from those thoughts. Though honestly she couldn't help it- the way the blues and blacks mixed really _did_ match his hair color.

 _Come on Sabine... focus on the absolute_ wonder _right in front of you, not the guy you can see everyday._ Sabine sat down on the hull, focusing all of her senses to try and capture this moment in every possible way.

"Sabine?"

 _This is going to be harder than I thought..._

"Ezra?" Yup. No doubt about it, the kid was outside with her, standing on the grass below and looking up at her, his intrigued eyes _just_ visible in the moon's lighting. Sabine blinked down at him, face contorting into confusion as she noticed he was still in his day clothes. Either he'd been planning on a late-night excursion, or he'd been out here since the daytime. Which had been a long, _long_ time ago.

"What are you doing out here?" He asked, and Sabine resisted the urge to scoff slightly.

"Um, what are _you_ doing out here? And why are you panting?" Because he _was_ panting, his chest rising and falling rather quickly. He blinked up at her, then scratched his head with a small smile.

"Lightsaber forms. I come out and do them whenever I-" He cut himself off, hand moving back down from his head and tucking itself in one of his many pockets. "...when I need to think."

Sabine raised an eyebrow, not _quite_ fully believing him. She had no doubts believing that he needed to think... but he was probably upset by something as well.

"...Come up here." _Might as well talk with him... try and sort out some of my own issues in the process._

A quick look of contemplations flashed across his face, before he too climbed up the side of the _Ghost_. With slightly more grace than she'd managed, as well.

"You never answered my question." Ezra sat down next to her, hanging his legs off the edge of the _Ghost_ and gently swinging them back and forth. After a moment of hesitation, Sabine turned around and copied his stance, though kept the leg-swinging to a minimum. Someone had to be mature.

"It's too cold inside. With how hot it was today, I figured it'd be warmer in the air here than in the ship." Ezra turned a raised eyebrow to her, and she shrugged. "I wasn't really getting to sleep, and I'm... not really in the mood to do much else than think. And- and look at the sky." She didn't say _why_ she couldn't sleep... and probably never would, unless she finally got things resolved in her head.

Ezra hummed, turning his head upwards at the night as well. Sabine knew he didn't have as much passion for art as she did (who was she kidding, _no one_ did), but from the small smile on his face, she could tell that he, too, appreciated the beauty of the night. "Yeah... When I was up in my tower, I used to just bring up the thermo blanket and some pillows and... sleep, watching the moons go by... though sometimes it gave me some _weird_ dreams."

Sabine laughed, partly because of the abrupt change in the conversation and partly from the slightly disturbed look that suddenly came to his eyes. "Oh yeah? What kind of weird?"

"Uh, the kind of weird where all the stars just merge together into another moon, and then the two existing ones get jealous because the new one's all twinkly, and so they kick it out of the sky and it comes crash landing into my tower before splitting into these teeny, _teeny tiny_ little fireflies that suddenly carry off the tower into space. Hey, you're laughing now, but when I woke up that morning I was absolutely _convinced_ that I was still in the sky. Until, you know, I looked down." Sabine was holding her hand over her mouth, trying desperately to stem her sudden giggles as the image of a highly confused young Ezra staring up at the sky in shock refused to leave her imagination.

Ezra huffed, crossing his arms in indignation as Sabine's laughter died down. She could tell it was just a show because the right corner of his mouth was twitching, try as he might to suppress it. Still though, when she stopped, she punched his arm lightly in a way of apologizing.

"How did the stars merge together to form another moon? Like, did they just kind of, ball up, or..."

"No no no, they kind of... swirled together? And... the center of the swirl just kind of got brighter the more stars came together... In the end, the third 'moon' was really bright in the center, and it got a little dimmer by the edges. But it was all still twinkling and glowing... it was pretty, but I can't _really_ remember it. It was a dream, from, like, five years ago."

Sabine hummed, picturing a moon just like the ones above them, twinkling just as vibrantly as the stars surrounding it. She blinked, eyes going wide as a sudden thought came to her. Oh, she'd _definitely_ have to work _that_ into her masterpiece... and the stars would be twirling in a clockwise spiral- she could see it now in her minds eye and she _loved_ it. Almost as though Ezra read her mind, he thoughtfully mused, "You know, this would be a nice scene for you to paint."

"Oh, you don't even know the _half_ of it... that's partially why I came out here." She frowned slightly, artistic vision fading somewhat as her concern took it's place again. "...Why did _you_ need to come out here?"

Ezra stayed silent for a few moments, simply looking up at the sky with a far away look on his face. Sabine let him think, knowing she'd get nowhere by interrupting him. Fortunately, her concern swamped out the _other_ distracting thoughts, letting her think with a clear head. And it payed off, because maybe half a minute later, Ezra responded to her, in a round-about way.

"Sabine... what did you think of Kavra?"

"The little girl in the market-place?"

"Yeah."

"...Well, she was... young. And cute, as six year olds go. Why?"

Ezra looked down, seemingly chewing the inside of his lip. Sabine noticed he'd stopped kicking his legs. "It's just..." He blew out his breath, leaning backwards to lay on his back. Sabine didn't copy him, letting him have the space if he needed it.

"I... walked her back to her house. And... it..." Sabine waited patiently, accepting that it'd take him a little bit to find the right words he needed to express himself with. She looked back up at the sky, drinking in the sight and the beauty while Ezra tried to explain himself.

"You remember Tama?" She frowned at the abrupt change in subject, but knew Ezra knew it was pretty much futile to distract her from his obvious troubles. If he brought up the miner, he was obviously trying to take the conversation someplace by doing so.

"'Course I do. What about him?"

"...His relationship with his father was... tight. A- And with his wife, Eilene. He... might even have kids coming." Sabine closed her eyes, staring to have an inkling about what was bothering her friend.

"And, when I walked back to Kavra's home, her parents..." She heard a small sigh, and it wasn't hard to image a pained expression on Ezra's face. She didn't turn around and look, though. Ezra had leaned backwards for a reason, and Sabine would respect his privacy.

"It hurt."

Vague description withstanding, Sabine understood him. Seeing Tama and his father, hearing them talk about their families, and seeing Kavra safely back to hers must have... well. Hurt. Sabine tightened her closed eyes, imagining him walking back down the streets to the _Ghost_ trying to compose himself after seeing what must have been a painfully familiar scenario between loving parents and their child. There was a pang somewhere in her heart at the sight, and her chest constricted.

"Ezra... I'm sorry." And she was. She was sorry that he'd had what past he did- that simple things like seeing a girl home could bring it up and hurt him again. They'd all lost family... they all knew that pain. Which was one of the reasons they could connect to one another so well, in Sabine's opinion. Which was why, as the small voice in her head inevitably whispered ' _their pain is your pain..._ ', Sabine honestly couldn't care less. She would in a few minutes, of course, but right now... it meant only that she knew and understood what the rebel beside her was feeling.

"Hm. Don't be- it's not your fault..." _He's bottling up the meat of his feelings. He won't let them out._

"You know... you can always talk to me, right?" _I may be emotionally stressed out and wondering exactly where I stand with you, but I will_ always _stand with you._

There were a few moments of silence again. Then-

"I miss them. Sometimes."

The corners of her mouth tugged upward slightly, but it was a sad smile.

"It would be weird if you didn't. It's okay to feel, you know. I- the rest of the crew knows exactly how you feel. You don't have to pretend to be... strong, all the time. That's what a crew's for, right? To hold you when you need it?"

"...Yeah, guess so."

She left the conversation there, ready to give Ezra a few seconds if he needed them. She knew Kanan was teaching him to open up to everyone, but those lessons didn't mean he got it right away. It'd taken Sabine a while to open up to Hera when she first joined, and even longer to talk about her past. Ezra... would get that soon. He was working on it, and Sabine knew that took a lot of effort for him, but he was working on it. So she would give him all the time he needed.

"Hey, Sabine?"

"Yeah?"

"...What happened to your family? You don't have to say anything if you don't want to."

Sabine bowed her head, her tongue in her cheek. The last time he'd asked her that, she'd briskly responded with 'the Empire' and left it at that. Hera and Kanan knew, of course, but other than that she hadn't really talked about them much. Though, she supposed it was only fair to tell Ezra. He was opening up to her, why not the other way around as well?

"They... they're still alive, somewhere. But... well, to explain them I'd have to explain about my enrollment in the Imperial Academy. The whole story's kind of long."

"... I don't think any of us are going anywhere any time soon, right?"

"Yeah." Sabine leaned backwards on her hands, staring up at the moons as another set of normally repressed memories came up to the surface. These, however, were a lot less confusing... and a lot more painful.

"Mandalore doesn't have a heavy Imperial presence. They mostly leave it alone, so I grew up in relative peace. I... we were all taught that that peace was _because_ of the Empire, and... well, I couldn't see any of what it _really_ was. I didn't know about all the people that were suffering because of them, only that I was able to grow up in a stable environment seemingly because of them. So... when I was old enough, I enrolled in the academy. I thought I would be helping the masses by doing that, and my family agreed." She heard Ezra shift behind her, but she paid it little mind. He wouldn't interrupt her until she was done and he had the full picture.

"But... as part of the advanced corp's training programs, we had to go off-world. And... I saw how... We traveled to Garos IV, which at the time had been going through a civil war with Sundari. We... we travelled there to see how the Empire had dealt with such a conflict and... they'd killed hundreds of fighters, on _both_ sides. The fight was almost over between them, the didn't _need_ to kill so many... but they did. And we were expected to go along with it. I didn't want to. I asked my superiors why such a thing was necessary, and they didn't answer me. That was the first show I got of their cruelty, when I was thirteen. After that... I had more of an open eye for what the Empire was really doing across the systems... and they never answered my questions about _why_. That was when I knew I couldn't be a part of their forces anymore. But my family..."

Sabine swallowed, remembering the various calls back home she had made as she desperately tried to make them see. "They couldn't see what I saw. They said that sacrifices were needed for the betterment of the galaxy, and that I just had to look past that and see the big picture. Well, I did- and I didn't like what I saw. There were way too many people suffering and dying to just be 'small sacrifices,' and they were dying for no reason. So I left the Academy. I couldn't go back to my family; it'd be too dangerous for them if a fugitive hid with them- so I... came to the Outer Rim, far away from Mandalore. The last I heard from my family was that they'd been forced to go into hiding. The Empire thought going after them would draw me out, but my family," she chuckled slightly, "well, is _Mandalorian_. Even if they weren't expecting it, the Empire's sudden attack on them didn't really hurt them... but they had to go into hiding. I don't know where they are, but I know they're alive."

Sabine blinked, exhaled softly, and realized she'd actually told Ezra more than she'd even told Hera. That... was surprising. Though right now she felt comfortable- she wasn't at all regretting her telling him. He was easy to talk to, and knew when to listen.

Her stomach gave an unpleasant flip.

 _"...you tell each other everything..._ "

Oh dear. Well, that was... ah. She bit her lip, the plethora of disturbing thoughts once again making an appearance. Apparently, not even spilling her guts out in front of him made these things take a backseat... quite the opposite actually. And now, the comfortable silence between them had suddenly turned awkward, at least for Sabine. Was he thinking along the same lines as she was? Was he noticing the parallels as well? What if he knew she was thinking about him right now?

"Thank you for... telling that."

Sabine swallowed. "Um, yeah- thanks for listening, I guess." Okay, apparently not. That- that was good, if he didn't know how... distracted she was.

"I... my parents broadcasted out against the Empire." Sabine already knew that, but she didn't say anything. If he was going to lead into the conversation like this, then she'd let him lead into it like that. She once again pushed the disturbing thoughts back down into a corner, concentrating on his words. Funny. The only time she could stop thinking about him was when they were talking to each other.

"I was young, so I didn't... didn't understand it all, but I knew it was important. And that they did it with passion. They taught me that the Empire suppressed the people who stood up against them, but that didn't mean we shouldn't stand against them at all. That just because you have power doesn't mean you deserve it." Sabine smiled softly, imagining young Ezra once again, but this time with the two people in the hologram she'd found crouching down on his level and talking to him softly. They sounded like people she'd love to meet.

"But... well, the Empire found out what they were doing. On the seventh Empire Day, they came and... and took them away..." His voice was soft. Sabine knew that if she turned around to look at him, he'd be staring up at the stars with a blank look in his eyes, seeing something from long in the past. Again, though, she didn't. She wouldn't push him further than he was willing to be pushed.

"They hid me in my room, because they kn- they knew the stormtroopers would look in the broadcasting room for their equipment. I... I heard them take them away, and that was it. I stayed in that house for days, just... waiting for them to come back, because they'd always promised that the Empire wouldn't ever stop them from speaking out. I thought that meant they'd... always come back home, but..."

Sabine couldn't help her eyes watering. The little Ezra in her mind's eye wasn't happy anymore... he was heartbroken, alone in the dark home she'd seen on Empire Day. He was looking in every room, eyes wide, calling softly for his parents, never getting a response...

"I left when I ran out of food. There were a few credits I'd found that I used, but other than that I couldn't get much. But when I came back to the house... I finally saw the warnings painted on it. I read them and I knew... I couldn't stay there, and I couldn't keep waiting for them to come back. That was when I started living alone."

And that was where he stopped that was where he stopped that conversation. Which was fine with Sabine... she'd told him what happened to her family, he'd told her what had happened to his. They didn't need to go into detail about what happened afterwards; not yet, anyways. Maybe they would in the future, but not now. Now... was the time to simply sit there with one another, silently supporting and indulging in the other.

Minutes passed, minutes filled with both of them looking up at the stars and just... thinking. Somewhere, out there, were their flesh-and-blood relatives. And right below them... was their crew. Their... their family. Surrogate, maybe, but they were still family. They'd all lost, and it was because of that loss they bonded together with such an inseparable bond. And right next to her...

Was her friend. Sabine couldn't sort out her emotional conundrums right now, and she didn't know just how deep her relationship with Ezra was... but he was, and always would be, one of her closest friends.


	7. The Planning Phase

**And now we're starting to get to the meaty bits of the story... good news for me, because no one likes writing a character who only has a one-track thought pattern, and good news for the story- things are progressing.**

 **And I am so so sorry for scaring you guys! I didn't mean for the last chapter to seem like the ending for the whole story because I _promise_ it isn't. When the story ends, you guys will _know_ it ends. (I make such a big fuss about it it's kind of hard not to notice :3) But worry not, this romance is _not_ over, and we still have a little ways to go. :)**

 **Disclaimer: How on Earth do you guys expect me to claim ownership of this kind of stuff? I can barely remember if I gave my cat dinner or not, how in the world would I responsibly run such a franchise like Star Wars or Disney?!**

* * *

 _Stop it. Stop it stop it stopitstopitstopit._

 _We match most of those requirements..._

 _STOP IT!_

Sabine growled in frustration as she yet again picked up her spray can. She was trying to make her vision from last night a reality on one of her experimental pads... and it wasn't working. She'd gotten in a few spritz's of paint, half-way prepping the material for the thick coats of black and blue to come, but that was about it.

Her discussion with Ezra last night was weighing heavily on her mind. She knew how important that moment had been between them, and she knew better than to underestimate it's value. But that made it hard to say them opening up to one another had nothing to do with her internal conflicts.

There was one part of her mind that was constantly asking that question. The main, predominant part was trying to _ignore_ that questioning line. The smallest part, tucked _waaaaay_ in the back and yet somehow still being heard in the entire commotion, was resolutely insisting that they matched one another, and she was just being stubborn about it. Honestly, Sabine hadn't been this conflicted in... a while. And it was seriously bothering her. She couldn't operate like this- she couldn't paint, couldn't sleep, wouldn't even _try_ to make her explosives in the fear of blowing herself up, and she could barely think of something _else_ for a few seconds before it was twisted someway to include Ezra.

Nearly nothing was getting him off her mind, despite how desperately she struggled to do just that. Which was why, as Zeb ducked into her cabin to tell her Hera'd gotten a transmission from Fulcrum, Sabine actually felt a little bit of dread. If she could barely focus on painting, how in the world would she be expected to concentrate on important battle information?

Small panic shot through her head for a second. _What if I can't concentrate on the mission?! Will I screw up and get one of us killed!?_

 _No- no I won't, because I'm a_ MANDALORIAN _damn it, and no amount of mental issues are going to change that. Get yourself together._

"I'll be there in a minute- gotta clean up." Zeb raised an eyebrow at the obvious _lack_ of paint in her experimental painting, but ducked out of her door and into the hallway. As it swished shut, Sabine sighed, looking at her hands and wondering desperately if she'd ever be able to get last night's sky captured in her art before abruptly shutting down. Because that had been happening a lot lately.

 _Come on- if Hera's gotten a call from Fulcrum, it means we've got our next target. And if we're gonna take it out, we're gonna need everyone at their best. Teenage excuses won't stop bucket-heads shooting us._ Storing away her airbrush in it's proper place and simply capping the preparing gels she'd opened, Sabine cast a sad look at the blue paint mix Ezra'd gotten her. She wouldn't be able to make use of it if she couldn't pull herself together- but she _would_. She would get herself together, and they would take out whichever station they'd been given.

Sabine quickly moved out of her room, heading towards the commons to see Hera and Ezra on the bench, Zeb and Kanan standing up in front of the Dejarik board. Kanan's reboot must have done something, because the hologram of what appeared to be a ship-building center was coming in crystal clear. It was seemingly just the picture of the building, but Sabine knew Hera probably had other schematics tucked away somewhere.

It was standard Imperial design- dull and unimaginative. The main centerpiece was a tower, extending maybe seven stories off the ground. On each side of the tower were four huge production bays, with storage areas plastered on either one of _their_ sides. It was dull, but it was large; a lot larger than the mining facility they'd taken out beforehand.

"There you are- I was considering sending Chopper as well to pry you away from those paints." The orange astromech 'bwa'd' her, raising two of his three arms at her threateningly. Long used to his terrorizing, Sabine ignored both the droid and Hera, instead focusing on Zeb as he snorted.

"There wasn't much painting going on from what I saw."

"I was prepping!" She grumbled. Ha. She'd been 'prepping' for a few hours now.

"Whatever the case, Fulcrum sent us our next target." Hera drew their focus back to the hologram- though Sabine had to force herself to look at it when she caught the amused smirk on Ezra's face. Careful there stomach- looping around like that surely isn't good health practice. Sabine scowled slightly, annoyed that the simplest of gestures from him could make her lose focus like this.

 _Well, maybe if you took time to_ consider _the issue instead of just locking it away, that might not happen!_

 _Mission. Concentrate on the mission._

"We'll need to attack it in the middle of the night two days from now if we want to attack it at the same time as the others attack their targets. That gives us the advantage of stealth, and a lot of time to prepare beforehand. Based on these proportions-" She gestured to the hologram, then zoomed outwards a little bit, showing off that it was nearly five times as large as the mining facility, "we won't be able to take it _all_ out, even with Sabine's new explosives."

Guilt twinged in her gut. Because of her 'inner troubles,' Sabine hadn't been able to make any more of the high-grade bombs. If they needed them for the plan, she would have to make more between now and then... if she could even focus enough to make them at all.

"So, we're going to target specific areas. Here, here, here, and here." She pointed to four different areas; the lower middle levels of the main tower and three of the production areas. Sabine frowned.

"I don't think we're going to have enough firepower to take out three full bays, Hera. Those are _really_ big."

The Twi'lek nodded, zooming in on a single bay. "I realize that- which is why you'll only be planting explosives on the machinery and equipment inside the bays. The blasts will be contained to those areas and won't do much damage outside of production lines, but it'll take out their ability to make more equipment."

"Then why aren't we targeting all four of the production bays? You've only got three listed as our targets." Ezra pointed out, and Sabine took a moment to look at him before abruptly switching focus back to the hologram.

"Because," Hera said, zooming out the picture and pointing towards the lower levels of the tower. "if we place explosives thoroughly enough, we should be able to make the tower fall- and if we place more on one side than the other, we should be able to make it fall right down onto the fourth production bay."

Zeb smirked, while Kanan and Ezra looked at one another before grinning at Hera. Sabine, however, frowned and narrowed her eyes at the hologram. Would she be able to make enough explosives for the job? She knew Hera had placed an order for more of the materials she normally used for the miracles when they were in the market, so it wasn't a matter of ingredients... more a matter of time. And, of course, if she could focus.

 _Of course I'll be able to focus- the mission comes before the... indulgences of feelings. It always has and it always will._

"Sabine, I know this is a tall order." She looked Hera in the eyes, raising an eyebrow. She _knew_ it was. "Even with all the extra time to prepare, we're still going to have to make explosives in the dozens- which is why I'm going to be helping you make them, Chopper as well. They won't be as powerful as your home-cooked ones, but they'll be strong enough to lighten your load."

She let out her breath through her nose, relaxing just slightly. With two people, the work would move quite a bit faster than just her alone, and with the two day time-limit, they should be alright. "That's a relief to hear- though are you sure you want Chop near high explosives?"

Said astromech grumbled and whirred his arms, indignant, and Hera smiled lightly at her. Zeb and Ezra, however, both looked at Chopper with narrowed eyes, seemingly evaluating how much of a threat he might pose. With her explosives, a big one.

"Chopper wouldn't do anything with grenades, except lob them at the Imperials." Hera defended her droid, though Kanan scratched his beard thoughtfully.

"I dunno... sometimes I get the feeling he's internally plotting all our demises."

"I'll second that..." Both Kanan and Ezra nodded, agreeing to Zeb's statement, while Hera shook her head and Chopper fumed rather vocally with two arms waving around. Sabine smirked, although she was slightly disturbed that Chopper didn't seem to be denying the fact.

"Chop knows better than to set of an explosive while in my ship. Now let me finish laying out the plan, and _then_ you can go mutter about my droid." The guys all frowned slightly, Zeb still eyeing Chopper dubiously, but they switched their attention back to the hologram.

"First and foremost- sorry to put you into this position again, Ezra, but seeing as the tower is literally in the center of all the action..." Ezra groaned, planting his head on the Dejarik board. Sabine smirked slightly, but wrenched her mind away from distracting thoughts before they took her completely out of the briefing.

"I'm gonna be planting bombs in the vents again, aren't I?"

Hera smiled kindly at him, but that did nothing in the way of comfort. "Yeah- though it's gonna be a little different this time. You won't be able to carry as many grenades as you'll need in one trip, so you're going to be infiltrating- with Chop." Ezra's head snapped right up, staring first at Hera and then at Chopper. Zeb laughed, and Kanan raised an eyebrow while Hera continued. "Chop, disguised as one of the Empire's, will take two storage crates into the complex- one for Ezra, one for the bombs. They'll tuck themselves away in an unused and unwatched room, maybe an outfitting one, where Ezra will be able to make as many hidden refill trips as he needs to plant them thickly enough to de-stabalize the tower."

Ezra narrowed his eyes at Chopper, and Sabine took a moment to scold herself for noticing just about everything he did.

"So when Ezra's mostly done with the tower, the rest of you will filter in- you'll each be planting bombs in one bay, and then Zeb and Sabine will rendezvous with Kanan outside the norther production line, where I'll pick you up."

Ezra looked away from Chopper to give a concerned look to them. "Even if you guys give me a head start before going in to plant the bombs, I'll still take a while. That tower is _big_ , and crawling through vents isn't exactly the fastest mode of travel. Especially if I'm going back and forth to re-supply."

Kanan nodded, frowning. "Yeah... if we're waiting for Ezra at the rendezvous and we're seen, we won't be able to escape before he can get to us. That could be problematic."

"That's why I got Sabine to buy some of the better-end slicing tools. While Ezra's up in the vents, Chopper can go to each of the production bays, plug in, and enter a virus into the camera system. It'll basically loop the camera footage over and over, so that it appears as though production is normal while you three are in there planting explosives. Those bays are just about completely machine operated, with little to no guards in there. You should be able to take them out stealthily, and then as long as you aren't super loud or obvious, you'll be fine until Ezra comes out."

Sabine smiled slightly, content with the plan. Kanan shrugged, knowing it wasn't perfect but knowing it was probably the best they could get. Zeb grunted. "You really think the bucket-head's'll keep falling for the same trick over'n over again? We've crippled nearly a dozen stations by sending the kid in the vents; they'll be looking for him."

"But they won't find him." Sabine was only aware of the words after she'd spoken them, but when both Zeb and Ezra raised an eyebrow at her, she kept going with a shrug. "What? He's good at hiding in the vents- even I know that." _Hey, it was training. Definitely not hide and seek._ "He's skilled enough not to get caught." Ezra grinned at her thankfully, while Zeb shrugged.

 _'...you trust and respect each other's abilities...'_

Sabine's knee jerked up and hit the underside of the Dejarik table; an unconscious reaction that thankfully made little noise. And suddenly, she wasn't exactly sure of where the conversation was going, because she was busy fighting her own mind.

 _Another one! We're compatible!_

 _The stupid signs don't even mean anything! We're good friends and that's it!_

 _But we match them, and we do have a rather_ deep _friendship..._

 _Because we're deep friends, not romantic partners!_

 _STOP THINKING ABOUT THIS AND FOCUS ON THE BRIEFING._

"...so Chopper'll visit the northern bay last to loop the cameras, and he'll wait there with Kanan for the rest of you guys to rendezvous. Sound like a plan?" Heads nodded around the holo, and Sabine berated herself for missing the first part of Hera's sentence. Honestly, this was getting out of hand.

"Those bucket-heads won't know what hit them!" Ezra exclaimed, and Sabine couldn't help but smirk at him.

"Um, yeah they will. Explosives- they're kind of hard to not recognize." Ezra snorted, raising an eyebrow.

"Not just any explosives! You of all people should know that yours are ten times better than anything those Imps have- not to mention prettier. They're one of a kind- unique miracles from the uniquely mighty Mando."

Alarm bells were screaming in her head as soon as he said that, but Sabine was already talking before she recognized them for what they were: "Well, thank you. I guess you're pretty unique yourself- I don't think there are too many telepathic Loth-cats out there, so that makes you kind of rare."

"It's not just telepathy!" Both he and Kanan rebuked, but Sabine barely even registered them.

' _there's no one else like them.._.'

 _No no no no no no-_

Too late.

 _I can't just ignore this anymore- much as I'd like to admit romance doesn't have anything to do with my life, with the way it's affecting how I operate, I can't say that anymore. I have to actively come to a conclusion about this issue or I'll never be able to carry on normally._

"Yes yes, the Force is mystical and powerful, but both me and Sabine need to get working on those bombs. The rest of you prepare as best you can- we're going to need everything in top condition." As Hera broke up the little group, Sabine couldn't help staring at Ezra as he left the room, grumbling.

 _Do I love you?_


	8. A Talk in the Cockpit

**The plot thickens- and Hera uses her 'mom' skills to good effect. Honestly I am so glad Disney made her the way she is, because she's awesome and I love her and she's the perfect person for this kind of thing. Seriously. I don't think _either_ Zeb or Kanan would be comfortable in Hera's place in this chapter.**

 **Oh- and to the guest who has a bad feeling about the op... Don't we all? }:3**

 **Disclaimer: Disney's a lot better at writing romance than me. Like, a _lot_ better. There was Wall-E (made me cry), Lady and the Tramp, Tangled, a bunch of other stuff, FREAKING _KANERA_ , you know.**

* * *

"Could you hand over another activator?"

Sabine gladly complied, hand automatically picking out the aforementioned piece and handing it over to Hera without her ever taking her eyes off the piece she was working on. The Twi'lek thanked her, and she hummed her response. She wasn't talking much- both her hands and her head were too busy to allow speech.

Sabine found, that after she recognized she _had_ to sort out the issue of her feelings instead of ignoring them, her head was actually a lot less busy than usual. She'd thought that sorting out her emotions would distract her from the ops- when in fact it was _trying not_ to think about it that had proven distracting. And now that her head was free to ponder, her hands no longer stopped their task within seconds- leaving her free to make the insane amounts of explosives needed for their next op.

Usually, the _Ghost_ crew didn't take on ops where they had to blow entire buildings. And those missions they _did_ take were few and far between, so Sabine usually had time to stock up on bombs before they were absolutely essential for a plan again. Sure, she _always_ had one or two on her, but that didn't compare to using _dozens_ at once. And this time, with the sheer size of the target they were blowing and the amount they'd used on the mining facility, Sabine needed to scramble in order to make enough for the job.

Which her hands were all too happy to do. Now that she was trying to resolve the question that'd been haunting her for two days instead of suppress it, a familiar activity like making miracles was welcome. It was a fairly complicated procedure, to be sure, but one that was so natural for her hands that she could practically do it with her eyes closed.

Not that she would, of course. That'd just be stupid. And, and dangerous.

But while Sabine _was_ focused on the task, it was so familiar to her muscles and eyes that it left her mind free to wander- and, of course, debate.

 _What would a miner's father know of what classifies as love for a teenage rebel? Those signs don't even matter._

 _But they do bring about the issue; whether or not they point to love itself, we match pretty much all of those signs, and if I think about it... he_ could _match my own._

 _But he's my friend! He's a really, really good friend!_

 _Well... no..._ Zeb's _a really really good friend..._ Hera's _a good friend, and so is Kanan... Chopper I don't know_ what _he is, but Ezra... he's something more._ Ha- there was that 'there's no one else like them' point again... but it was so true.

After all, had there _ever_ been anyone like him in her life before? The other cadets at the Imperial academy might have been her age, and Sabine might have been _expected_ to get along with them like she did Ezra, but... in the end, they were just pale, colorless, spineless, _bland_ people, and that was even without the tasteless armor on. All of the potential 'love' interests Sabine'd had in her life just weren't up to the cut. Not only in their not being able to keep up with her, but also because their personality was just about as interesting as the featureless walls she hadn't been allowed to paint on at the Academy.

Ezra... was bright. He was vivd, he was colorful, he was spunky. He joked with her, she joked with him. He fought alongside her, and she him. They had each other's backs, and when the fights were done, they went back home to the rest of their family. He... was her partner, in a way. And honestly, she couldn't really imagine fighting without him there. He'd become an essential part to their routine-

 _Yeah, to_ everyone's _routine, not just mine. Because he's my friend, nothing more._

 _But he's still special to me, regardless. And when have I ever felt like this for anyone? I don't even think I connect with Zeb better than Ezra..._

 _Watch the wiring there- Zeb's twice as old as me, of course I'd connect better with Ezra!_

 _But Zeb doesn't make you start up internal debates over whether or not you do or do not like someone. Other members of the crew make you laugh, but you didn't start thinking you loved_ them. _You only got contradicted when Ezra popped up._

"Are you okay, Sabine?"

"Hm?" She looked up, to see Hera peering at her with observant eyes.

"You're scowling. And of all the times I've seen you scowl while making bombs, it was when they were about to explode on you." Her lip twitched, and Sabine looked back down at the explosive in her grasp, though her hands stilled.

"I can assure you, it's not about to blow. I'd be making a _much_ heavier scowl if it was."

Hera cocked an eyebrow, hummed, and then returned to her own explosive. While the Twi'lek didn't have as much experience with wiring as Sabine did, she made a damaging enough explosive, and her help was _drastically_ reducing her workload. Chopper had abandoned the project earlier, both in response to some rather frantic yelps coming from the cargo bay, and from the mental image of Jedi training taking a turn for the worse. He still hadn't come back yet, leaving Sabine to moderately fear for both Kanan and Ezra. The last time the astromech had interfered with their training, one had gone plummeting off the edge of the _Ghost_.

"You can talk if you need to."

"I know- I just... need to figure something out for myself." Sabine bit her lip, staring down at the wiring for her explosive. Everything was hooked up correctly- nice and neat and organized. Her hands had been able to do that.

So why couldn't her head?

* * *

It was late during the _Ghost_ 's night shift when Sabine was once again pulled from her internal debate. And, once again, the interrupter was in the form of a slightly concerned captain.

"Whoa- Sabine, you don't need to make all the explosives tonight! We still have _all_ of tomorrow's daylight hours to get them done!"

"Wha- oh." Though it confused her at first, Hera's shock made sense once Sabine looked at the pile of finished explosives she'd made. Hera was right- she'd made nearly _all_ the explosives they needed, and- as Hera'd said -a surplus amount of time to finish the rest.

"Just got a little carried away, I guess..."

"Ha- carried away is right, what possessed you to stay up this late?"

"Umm..."

Well. There was... only one reason, really. And she couldn't exactly... resolve it, instantly. What person could? This was a serious, serious matter... and it seemed that when her head didn't stop thinking, her hands didn't stop making. Bombs. Must be because it was such a familiar task to her.

Hera beat her to the punch. "You've been distracted lately, I've noticed."

Sabine groaned, leaning back onto her desk stool's backing. She'd been sitting in that area for nearly the entire day, only leaving it for refills of caf. "Was I that obvious?" Hera snorted.

"You haven't been painting, you were zoning out during the briefing, tripping over yourself, and you've had this faraway look in your eyes since you got back from the market trip. Even Ezra pointed out you were acting a little strange."

"Of course he did..." Sabine rested her cheek on her right hand, propping the elbow down on the desk and staring at the half-finished explosive. Yeah, of course Ezra'd noticed something was up. She'd noticed on Empire Day when he couldn't seem to stop thinking, so of course he'd notice when she did the same.

"What's on your mind?"

Sabine groaned. "Too much and way, _way_ too little."

"Care to explain that?"

"I've been trying to resolve just a single issue for the past few days- and I haven't been able to think about much else than that one topic."

"Hmm. Come here- walk with me." Sabine turned to raise an eyebrow at Hera, who motioned into the direction of the cock-pit with her head. "I find it's a lot easier to talk when I'm looking out a window." Sabine looked at her explosive, determined it wouldn't explode if she left it alone for a few minutes, and stood up. As she stretched her back, Hera pointed towards her empty cup next to the miracle.

"How much caf have you been drinking?"

"Probably a lot more than the recommended amount. I pulled an all-nighter yesterday... not one of my smarter decisions, I'll admit." Hera shook her head, turning and heading towards the cock-pit once Sabine stepped out from her desk. She spared a glance at the walls of her room, and realized- even an untrained eye would notice she hadn't made any new additions. She really had been distracted.

Hera swept into the cock-pit, plopping down in her chair and leaving Sabine to take the co-pilot's. They were on Lothal's plains again, though the heavy clouds blocked out most of the beautiful sky she knew to be up there. Only a few small stars peeked through here and there, and one of the moons was mostly covered. Shame.

"Now- what's bothering you?" Hera asked, keeping her gaze up at the sky to give Sabine privacy if she needed it. Honestly, Hera just _knew_ what to do.

"It's..." Sabine sighed, looking at her armored legs. She hadn't changed into night clothes. "It's about those stupid signs."

"The ones Ezra won't stop teasing Kanan about for the life of him?"

Sabine mouth quirked into a small smile. "Yeah, those. It's just-"

How to say this? Her pride wouldn't let it come outright, and Hera's wouldn't let it stay completely hidden. "I've... been thinking about them."

"I've noticed- every time you hear Ezra teasing one of us about them, you suddenly get really, really quiet or simply leave the room. They're getting to you, aren't they."

"Well; not _directly_ , because I mean really, what do they even have to do with anything- they're just an old miner's definition, they don't even really apply to situations he has no idea about..." Sabine trailed off. She looked next to her to see Hera smiling understandingly.

"But they got the idea that you might love him in your head."

Sabine blinked at her. "How- how did you know-" She hadn't said anything about Ezra, had she? No, so how...?

"Honey, you've practically glued your eyes to Ezra every time he comes in the room- and every time he makes you smile, it slides off your face _real_ quick. Trust me, I've been working with someone who tries to hide his feelings for long enough to have picked up on a few tricks."

Sabine looked back down at her legs, reviewing the past few days and concurring that she had, indeed, been pretty obvious. "So, you _do_ admit at least Kanan has feelings for _you_?"

Hera smiled and looked out the viewport.

A few moments trickled by, where Sabine gathered her thoughts. Not that hard- they'd been pretty much on repeat for the past couple of hours. 'I like him,' 'no I don't, we're friends,' 'with the possibility of being more,' 'but he's just a friend,' 'he had a crush on me early on as well,' 'and now that's faded, because we're friends,' 'but I like him,' 'no I don't, we're friends,' and so on and so forth.

"Hera... I really don't know. I don't know what to think- I mean, I like him as a person, and he's a really good friend, but... romance? It just... feels weird."

"Is there ever anything new that doesn't?"

"Well... no..."

"Exactly. You're weirded out right now because this is something new- that doesn't mean the concept itself is bad. You just need to figure out where you stand, and everything'll be clear- mostly."

Sabine hummed, returning her gaze to the sky outside the windows. Mainly the visible moon- it was the clearest object in the sky; the rest was mostly hidden by the clouds. She remembered Ezra's dream of those hidden stars swirling together to make one huge, beautiful moon... She sighed.

"Even _if_ I sort out... _whatever_ feelings I have, it's been a while since Ezra's felt that way. Don't you think he'd've moved on by now?" This time, Hera sighed, though it was much softer and more akin to a quiet laugh.

"When Kanan first became a part of this crew, he was head-over-heels for me." Sabine stared at Hera. "The more he stayed here, though, the more he toned down. You _could_ say he 'moved on.' And yet, after all this time, you and Ezra and even Zeb sometimes _still_ poke us about being 'together.' If that tells you anything, it's that these kind of feelings don't really just 'go away.' You just learn to tuck them away so you don't scare anyone. Trust me- if you think you love him, he won't reject it."

 _It's just up to me to decide if I do or not- I'm the deciding factor._

She brought her knees up to her chest, hugging them and resting her chin on them. While talking hadn't exactly brought about the _exact_ peace of mind she needed, Hera _had_ managed to make the choice a lot simpler- either she loved him... or she didn't. One or the other. Well, maybe there was middle ground somewhere, but for now... option a or option b.

"You seem to know a lot about this kind of stuff."

"Not at all- I'm just older than you, and have vast amounts of experience using diplomacy. It kind of translates into wisdom when you need it to."

Sabine smiled, closed her eyes, and sat there for a few moments, enjoying the silence. Then her smile turned to a smirk.

"You realize you just plain told me at least Kanan has feelings for you."

"And I also realize that until you resolve your own questions, you won't take part in Ezra's teasing of him and me. Too uncomfortable." Sabine's smirk shrank back into a small smile.

"Yeah... ha- you two are lucky I'm even going down this train of thought. Otherwise, I'd join Ezra and wouldn't leave _either_ of you alone until next year."

"Oh goodness yes, I know. Goodnight, Sabine- try to get some sleep, the op's tomorrow night."

"Night."

Hera walked out of the cabin, patting Sabine's shoulder on her way out. The Mandalorian resettled into her knee-pillow, still staring out at the cloudy skies of Lothal.

This would take thinking on- of course it would, that'd been what she'd been doing for the past two days -but now it was _infinitely_ simpler to settle things. Or, it would be. Right now... she needed to sleep, as Hera said. She'd pulled an all-nighter last night, and if she wanted to be in decent condition for the op, she'd need at least _some_ rest between now and then.

But in the morning, when her hands were once again distracted with the making of her miracles, Sabine knew she'd once again be debating-

Hopefully with a set outcome at the end.


	9. Infiltration

**And the op begins! Poor Ezra... :3**

 **Disclaimer: Considering school's starting up again, you all better hope and pray that I don't own Star Wars. I'd be too busy- the result being that the new movies and any new content from Disney would pretty much be rushed and unimaginative. For now though, keep your prayers focused on The Force Awakens...**

* * *

Zeb whistled. "Looks like you got your work cut out for you, kid. That tower's looking _pretty_ wide..."

Ezra grumbled, looking in the same direction as the Lasat. The entire facility was _huge_ \- well, it had to be, they made ships there. But still- did the _command_ tower have to be that thick? It'd take him nearly an hour to plant all the bombs he needed!

"I can see that for myself, fuzzball. My back is gonna be _soooo_ sore by the end of this..." Zeb snorted, and Sabine chuckled lightly from the front seats in the _Phantom_. Hera was flying, though they were keeping their distance from the complex. For now, anyways.

The information they'd gotten from the mining facility had mentioned other transports of ore from various other sources, and the crew were waiting for said shipments as their chance to sneak in. While Ezra had Chopper to pull him in (who was _not_ happy in Sabine's black paint job), they still had to somehow sneak Chopper into the facility without him standing out as an oddity to the Imperials. Once the shipment of ores came in, Chop would simply blend into the flow of arriving shipments, taking Sabine's bombs and Ezra stuffed into a crate with him.

Ezra wasn't really looking forwards to that.

"What? You know I will be. First curled in a box, then crawling back and forth through the vents... by the time we're out of here, I'm going to be a hunchback."

"Ah, we can't have that, now can we? Then you'd be even shorter than you are now."

"Zeb!"

"Try not to damage anything we need for the op back there." Hera called out, apparently not satisfied with how Kanan was handling their little squabble. As in, sitting back and watching them with a half smile.

"Well, seeing as pretty much the only things we need for the op are bombs and ourselves, I think that goes without saying." Sabine spoke up, and Ezra glanced at her before quickly turning back to stick his tongue out at Zeb. She'd been... acting odd. Since the market trip, actually. She wasn't really laughing as much, and when she was, it either died down abruptly or trailed off sadly. Ezra'd noticed and had tried to get to the root of what was bothering her, but whenever he started up a casual conversation, she went right back to normal.

And Ezra _knew_. He _knew_ that calling _direct_ attention to whatever was bothering her was not. In any universe. A good. Idea. If Sabine wanted to talk about something, she would talk. If not, she would go to _any_ means in the galaxy to _not_ talk about it. Ezra hadn't yet pushed that fact to the point of physical injury, and he wasn't that willing to go there.

He still worried, though. Just a bit. But since another high point on the 'never EVER treat Sabine in this fashion' was to baby or coddle her, Ezra'd kept the fact he'd noticed a secret. From her, at least. He knew Hera knew; she knew just about everything. But Sabine wouldn't know Ezra knew she was bothered by something unless she came and told him. Either that or she'd get over it in silence, and no one would be the wiser.

As much as he didn't like her being troubled by something that was obviously disturbing on her own, she wouldn't have it any other way. So the best he could do was wait- for either her to talk to someone (maybe him, maybe not. Most likely Hera), or for her to resolve it. It was how she operated, and he by _no_ means wanted to throw a wrench into the system that'd kept her running for so long. He just wished she'd talk to him.

 _Oh- is this how Kanan feels when I'm acting all stubborn and won't talk to him? Huh... I must be the biggest hypocrite on Lothal_.

"Ezra, you might want to get started on getting yourself settled- the shipment should be coming in soon." Kanan pointed out, apparently having enough of simply watching him and Zeb fire banter back and forth. Ezra pouted.

"What! We're all gonna be right next to the gates, I can do it there! I already know my back is gonna kill me, but can I at least put off the inevitable for a few more minutes!?"

"No." Ezra crossed his arms. Kanan continued. "It's better to have everything ready for a quick departure as soon as we're up there and waiting- don't want to lose a chance to sneak you and the bombs in because we took too long getting ready." Ezra groaned, knowing Kanan had the 'logical' course of action that was most likely to not get them all killed. And, just coincidentally, to _murder_ his back early on in the game.

Even though Ezra would be alone in the complex for most of the time, Kanan Zeb and Sabine were all using the shipment as their opportunity to sneak aboard the base as well. They wouldn't actually begin planting bombs in their assigned hangars until Ezra was about half-way done- because he would take a _while_. If they started at the same time he did, they'd be stuck at their rendezvous point for maybe a half-hour before Ezra was finished with his part. That would mean the cameras would be in their loop for that entire time as well. And while the crew was confident in the looping buying them enough time to plant _their_ share of Sabine's miracles, not even the bucket-heads were so unobservant to notice a camera looping for an hour. Maybe less.

So, instead, they'd sneak into the base with Chopper and Ezra... but stay outside the actual _buildings_ , starting their jobs once Ezra'd given his signal. Then they'd sneak into the bays- not that hard, since they were _open_ to allow the built ships to fly out -and plant their bombs. Ezra should finish around the same time they did then, and so it would only be a simple matter of him crawling to the rendezvous point, them sneaking out of the base, Hera picking them up, and Sabine blowing the charges.

But no matter how simple the plan, Ezra knew... there'd always be a catch. And this time... it'd be that _he'd_ most likely be escaping with a hunchback, one which wouldn't straighten out for _days_. Ah, woe to be he who's lithe stature be used for the greater good.

"Fine, I'll get in the darned box..." Ezra stood from the folded down seat, swaying just ever so slightly as Hera turned the _Phantom_. They would've gone in the _Ghost_ , but it was too big and obvious for this stealth mission, whatever its' name implied. The _Phantom_ was a much smaller craft, with less lights to give it away, and a smaller signature, which wouldn't even be registered at the distance Hera was keeping it.

The two storage crates were tucked next to the door, one completely empty, for him, and the other absolutely _stuffed_ with _dozens_ of miracles. Honestly, Ezra was absolutely _astounded_ that Sabine had been able to make so much, even with Hera helping (Chopper had left rather quickly to poke fun at his training. Both figuratively and literally). Honestly, she was amazing...

Ezra narrowed his eyes at the small container, knowing that no matter how small he was... he was still going to be absolutely cramped inside of the crate. Chopper beeped from the corner, where they'd had to keep him if they wanted to fit everyone _plus_ the two crates _and_ him. Hera snorted lightly from her pilot's chair.

"I don't think he's any happier than you, Chop- just count yourself lucky you're _pushing_ the boxes instead of laying inside them." Chopper seemed to laugh as Ezra crouched into the fetal position, tucking himself awkwardly into the corners in a diagonal sort of fashion.

 _Oh, what's this? I can feel my bones groaning already? Why, I'm shocked!_

"No, he'd be absolutely _fine_ in one of these. _He_ doesn't have bones or nerves to feel cramped wi-"

"Yeah yeah, you're in a box blah _blah_ , but I think that's the transport over there in the distance, so we'd better land now if we're gonna do this properly." Zeb pointed a large purple finger out the viewport, and Ezra lifted his head slightly to see that there was indeed a large ship out in the distant night. Hera hummed, already moving the _Phantom_ , and stealthily brought them closer to the compound. There weren't very many scanners or cameras on the outside, only on the inside, so when their ship was brought nearly straight up against the complex's side, they knew they were still hidden.

"Transport's heading for the southern gate, looks like it's going to be unloading through one of the storage bays. I'll be waiting for you to rendezvous at the-"

"End of the northern production line- we know the plan." Hera smiled tightly at Kanan.

"Then good luck, and I'll see you on the other side." The four of them nodded to the Twi'lek, and then the back ramp opened. They filed out quickly, Chopper already hauling the miracle crate while Zeb had taken Ezra's just to move quickly. Even in the dark Ezra saw the smirk the Lasat was wearing, and he stuck his tongue out at the purple behemoth. Just because he was in a box did _not_ call for belittling.

And then he didn't see anything, Kanan having pressed the crate's storage lid over the top and sealing it. He felt them moving, though not directly, as he was hovering in the air. He knew they were heading as quickly as Chopper could roll towards the incoming shipment of ores, and pretty soon it'd just be the little astromech for company. Oh joy.

There was a knock on the top of the crate, and Kanan's muffled voice filtered through: "Keep your comm on, but only contact us when you're nearly done. We'll be depending on your signal to start. But be careful."

"I got it- jeez, you and Hera _both_ have no faith that we actually pay attention to the briefings."

"Well, do you?"

"Bits and pieces." He couldn't exactly hear the sigh his master made, but Ezra knew it was there nonetheless.

"May the Force be with you, and, same as last time, don't get yourself blown up."

"Likewise."

And then there was a change in his movement, which he interpreted as Chopper taking over with the crates. Ezra slowed and softened his breathing, well aware that if any sounds came from a crate supposed to be filled with chunks of ore there would be an investigation. While he had no doubt he could take on a few troopers, doing so would defeat the purpose of sneaking in.

He heard various noises, which he managed to piece together as the sounds the stormtroopers were making as they unloaded their cargo from the now landed transport ship. He heard footsteps, hydraulics hissing, random orders being delivered, and the hum of other storage containers being activated and moved. Ezra had a sudden image of one of the larger traffic jams he'd seen as a child, but with the vehicles replaced with the boxes instead. While it was in no way logical, it did amuse him slightly.

There was a noticeable temperature change- it went from the chill of the night to the almost stifling warmth of the Imperial complex. Ezra knew it was hotter than most facilities he'd been in because this was a factory- where large machinery operated there was heat, and that heat warmed the building far more than any separate heating system.

"Six minutes late, captain. Honestly, do you think this facility can operate without _everyone_ working on schedule?" A cold voice floated above him, and Ezra held his breath. The man was close by.

"With all due respect, sir-"

"I'll not have you _excuses_ , soldier. Your delivery was delayed six minutes, and as a result, _I_ was delayed six minutes. This _factory_ was delayed six minutes. And while to you it may seem inconsequential, six minutes is an unacceptable amount of time for any facility to run without. Although it takes even less to demote a blundering dunderhead- if you are delayed once again, for _any_ reason, you _will_ be punished. Do I make myself clear."

"...Yes, commander Morden."

The voices grew fainter, though not before Ezra caught the cold man's name. According to Fulcrum's intel, Morden was the commanding officer of the entire facility- and, apparently, unforgiving. Ezra knew he'd be staying well away from the Imperial, and felt a sudden burst of gratitude that he would be. Sometimes the Empire hired blithering idiots... and sometimes they didn't. This was one of those special cases.

Ezra slowly released his pent up breath, lungs stinging slightly but not at an unmanageable level. He didn't want to make _any_ noise with that guy around...

 _There's nothing to worry about- we're all going to be hidden the entire time. No one will even know we're here until we're gone; this guy won't hurt us._

His foot was asleep. Ezra would have groaned if it wouldn't have completely given away his position. It'd be at least a few minutes until Chopper found an unwatched area inside the tower, and even longer for him to get there. Until then, Ezra wouldn't be able to alleviate the numb tingles, because he didn't _dare_ try moving in the crate. It'd wobble or he would make a noise- and then it'd be all over. He wouldn't have that happen just because of a few lousy pins and needles.

 _Come on Chopper..._

More footsteps passed by them, and Ezra sighed. Internally, of course. This would be a _long_ mission... he was glad, now, that Hera had ordered them all to head to their cabins near noon and power nap until the middle of the night. If she hadn't, he would have been sorely tempted to just sleep inside the crate... which would lead, of course, to Chopper having to use alternative ways of waking him. That and he just didn't want to fall asleep in enemy territory.

Oh, how he would kill to just move his foot...

* * *

 _One day, I'm gonna stick_ you _in a crate, master... see how_ you _feel all cramped up... though you might not even fit in the first place. Oh, how you guys abuse my size..._

Not that he wasn't glad to be of use and help. It was just... a little humiliating sometimes. He was stuffed in a box. Being towed by an astromech. He was being towed by a droid.

 _'Just think of it like he's chauffeuring you!'_ Sabine's voice popped into his head, and Ezra found himself smiling just a bit. Yeah, okay, that made it a bit better...

Ezra heard the hiss of a hydraulic door opening and closing in rapid succession, but it wasn't until Chopper beeped an affirmative and popped the lid off of the box that Ezra finally moved out. It was a little awkward, but it felt _so_ good. He didn't know how many minutes had passed, but he knew there were quite a few. And they'd absolutely _killed_ him.

"No cameras?" He whispered, stretching his arms over his head and twisting his back. When the droid chirped at his usual noise levels in what Ezra could only assume as a non-worried yes, he allowed himself to relax just slightly and take stock of their surroundings.

Chop had chosen well- it wasn't a huge room, maybe just the size of a small office. But it was large enough for the crates with room to spare, and was sparsely furnished in the guise of... well. The best guess Ezra had was a storage closet. There were a few crates similar to his in there, and the walls were taken up by shelving units filled with trooper helmets. After a quick glance while massaging his still-numb right leg, he confirmed that none of them were special. As well as showing he had no need to take one for his collection, it also showed that this wasn't the changing room of any officers- which meant it wasn't commonly or regularly used. At least not by anyone that mattered.

"And we _are_ on the right floor?" An indignant chirp was his answer, proving that yes, yes they were and how dare he doubt Chopper.

"All right- guess I'll go ahead and get started, then. Looks like I can trust you after all, huh Chop?" The astromech beeped in something that didn't sound positive or negative- mostly sarcastic, but with the absence of an electric shock, Ezra chose to read the droid's reaction as a good one.

 _And now the '_ fun' _part begins... ugh._

Sighing and resigning himself, Ezra put the lid back on the crate he'd been in and pushed it up against the wall. It looked completely inconspicuous with the others, which was a good thing. When Ezra would be up in the vents, the crate with the bombs would be closed back up and pressed against the wall as well, so that if anyone _did_ happen to come in, they wouldn't see anything suspicious. Besides Chop, of course, but that could be easily explained. Or dealt with, depending on the situation.

Using the racks of helmets as a ladder, Ezra flexed his fingers and pried off the ventilation panel leading into the duct system. There were a _lot_ of vents in place, to try and deal with the excess heat that rose from the factories and into the upper layers of the base. While it gave Ezra more freedom as to where to go, it also gave him more targets and junctions to hit.

Lucky, Sabine had simply _outdone_ herself with the number of explosives- as small as they were, they were still jam-packed into the crate and only _just_ staying underneath the lid. There must have been around sixty or so in there... Seriously, jokes aside, that Mandalorian was a mighty one.

 _Now I just can't wait to see this thing blow with you- it's bound to be absolutely_ spectacular.

Though of course he'd need to plant those explosives if he wanted that to happen. Sighing once more, Ezra popped the lid of the bomb crate, stuffed seven in his pockets and hands, and leaped up the the vent opening.

This would take a while.


	10. Half-way There

**And the dreaded op continues- did I seriously give so many of you bad vibes?**

 **Excellent, excellent...**

 **Disclaimer: With as much squealing and fan-girling I do over Rebels, it's not hard to see why I'm not in charge. Example: *story writers* Hey, what do you think of this idea? *me* (squeals and faints) *story writers* I guess that's a yes.**

* * *

Kanan was worried.

Well, not really full-blown worried per-say, but Sabine could see he was wary and alert. And she knew the exact reasons why- because she was worrying about them as well. Granted, she was a lot more concealed about it than he was, but that wasn't to say he wasn't being subtle. It was the little things that gave him away. The tapping of his fingers on his crossed arms. The half-scowl half-frown expression he was using to stare up at the complex. Hera would have been able to point out probably a dozen more little ticks he had, but Sabine could see enough to tell he was concerned. As well he should be.

Ezra would be literally in the middle of enemy territory- alone -for a period of time much much longer than any other op. They knew he could take care of himself, and she trusted him and his skills not to get caught... but if something were to happen, it would be way, _way_ too easy for everything to go wrong at once. She knew it, and Kanan knew it, and they were both concerned. Zeb was, as well, though she suspected not as much as they were. His ears weren't twitching, so he wasn't actively occupied by some horrendous thought pattern at least.

 _Be okay. Don't be stupid._

Kanan shifted beside her, and Sabine looked upwards at the sky. It was a partly cloudy night, so bits and pieces of the atmosphere shone through... but with the huge lit tower in front of them, the light pollution pretty much drowned out everything the sky had to offer. Not just that, but there was noise pollution as well. If that was even a thing. While it wasn't as bad as the lights, the sounds from the production bays were crashing in, not only kindling the start of a mild head-ache, but also making it nearly impossible for them to hear a guard approaching. Though they didn't really need to worry about that; their location should hide them from prying eyes.

"He's gonna be a while yet, isn't he." Zeb sighed, one ear flicking in annoyance. Kanan half-smiled, though his eyes were still tight.

"Have a little patience- he'll finish when he finishes, and until then it's out job to wait for our part to come."

"It's the waiting that kills me, though. I much prefer action than just sitting here waiting for it."

Sabine hummed, her eyes once again sweeping the perimeter for any bucket-head that might be on patrol in their area. It was unlikely, since they were tucked into the corner of the northern production bay and it's right hand storage area, but it never hurt to check. They'd been waiting for nearly ten minutes, and they didn't want to have to run away now. Not with Ezra still stuck up in that tower, and not when they still had a job to do.

"If it helps you any, both he and Chop should signal us soon."

"Ha- if by soon you mean in another twenty minutes."

"Come on Zeb, brighten up a little. At least you don't have to crawl through dusty vents with volatile bombs in hand." Though Sabine knew Ezra wasn't in any danger from her bombs- they wouldn't detonate until she activated them. And she was keeping her fingers far away from the detonation trigger in her wrist device until they were safe in the _Phantom_.

Zeb snorted, gleaming green eyes crinkling in a half-smile as he pointed to the pack on his back. "While we're over here hauling volatile bombs on our direct person. I have no sympathy." Sabine tutted, knowing if Ezra'd heard his furry friend he'd most likely go on a subdued rant about how crawling affected one's back before Kanan somehow managed to quiet him. As it was, Sabine simply acknowledged Zeb, shifting her own pack on her shoulders.

They were each carrying their own loads into the compound- they wouldn't be taking crates, as Ezra was, because Sabine would never be able to make _that_ many bombs, stealth reasons, and they had less targets to cover. While the bays were bigger and longer than the tower, all they would be placing the bombs on were the equipment inside- and that would take significantly less time _and_ explosives to take down.

But since no one wanted to travel (or fight) with an armload of bombs, the packs were employed. Even if they were bland, boring, dull, and dimmed down Sabine's entire color scheme. And just as she had her own little issue with the bags, Zeb had his own: he'd only just barely managed to fit his on his massive shoulders, and even now the seams seemed rather strained. They fell into silence again, each with their own thoughts. Sabine, of course, had her own... separate line of thinking.

 _Is_ _he really that special to me?_

 _Maybe... but the rest of the crew is special to me as well. Though I'm not harping on about_ them _now, am I?_

 _What would happen if he- if we got into a relationship?_

Sabine frowned a bit, trying to picture the two of them... no. No, that was too weird. If they managed to get into a relationship, Sabine couldn't picture them holding hands or... or kissing or being all 'lovey-dovey.' That just wasn't her, and it wasn't him either. No... them together would actually look... a lot like Kanan and Hera, she realized. Which didn't seem too bad.

 _So... a relationship wouldn't be too... weird... but what if...?_

This was new territory. Sabine had never cared too much for romance, and she'd never given it much thought. Now that she was, she had no idea where to start.

Scratch that- she knew exactly where to start: decide on whether or not she liked him like that or not. The only problem was, she seemed to need information from the later steps to decide on that first one. Which was stupid- usually she was organized and collected. She knew what she was doing, and how she was doing it. This... she had absolutely no clue.

 _Okay, new angle- how would it make me feel if he died?_ As much of a leap as it was from her train of thoughts, Sabine nevertheless became devoted to the new topic. And shivers went down her spine. If Ezra died, bad, _bad_ things would happen. Not just to her- though at this stage she might just shut down for a while -but to the rest of the crew as well. Ezra dead was something that would have long lasting effects throughout the rest of their lives.

 _...Very strongly, then. That's... not exactly comforting... who am I kidding, thinking of anyone dying is_ never _comforting. But this is neither here or there- why did I even think up with that?_

Probably because she was still worried. And, well. Who wouldn't be? None of them were really used to solo missions, except maybe Kanan and Hera. And Ezra'd been in there for a long time- and he would be there for a long while yet. He wasn't really a fighting type- he was much more suited to stealth. And while that worked in his favor here, it also meant that if caught, his odds against getting out of the tower- alone -with every stormtrooper on alert for him were very, _very_ high.

Sabine forced herself to relax, leaning against the wall of the storage bay behind them so that she wouldn't belay her nervousness to the others. While she was sure she had other ticks, she knew her helmet covered her face so completely it wouldn't be insanely obvious. They just had to wait for Ezra to send his signal. They would do their jobs, and they would all get out alive and well.

 _He'll be fine... he should be fine. He'll be fine as long as he doesn't do anything stupid._

 _..._

 _Oh my god he's going to die._

* * *

Sabine knew Zeb was considering a nap when Ezra's signal finally came through. Alert, when Chopper sent out his own signal to relay the cameras were looped properly, they were ready to spring into action. They nodded to each other, and then they were off. Zeb followed Kanan for a little bit as the Jedi slipped into the bay, and then he left for his target, the western bay. Sabine's own target was the eastern, so she slipped away from both her companions and stealthily picked her way across the grounds.

She knew there were a few patrols circulating around, but with her stealth and tech, it wouldn't be a problem evading them. In fact, the main worry she had was the distance from their waiting point to her own target, but once again- not a big issue. She was used to moving quickly and stealthily, though the pack on her back threw a slight wrench in her movements, as the bombs jostled lightly with any sudden movements.

Fortunately she didn't have to make too many of those, as the trip to the mouth of the production bay was mostly uneventful. The only action that came was when she had to take out the two guards stationed at the mouth of the bay- and they were taken down rather quickly, the element of surprise and the darkness giving Sabine a further advantage besides her already advantageous Mandalorian upbringing and training. They went down without a sound, one without ever knowing she was there and the other not even having time to see her.

Pity- she rather liked showing off her colors.

She jumped the slight lip, and then was inside the building. Taking a moment to study her surroundings, she silently slipped the pack off her shoulders. Though it wouldn't make much of a difference if she made noise or not- the machinery, drills, torches, and general construction pieces would have drowned out any noise she made by far. Still.

Stowing it away in the corner, Sabine rolled her shoulders and flicked down her helmet's antenna and began to scan for life forms. Lithely climbing onto a large half-finished vehicle, Sabine used her height as a vantage point to scope out all the guards she could see in the bay.

There were nine- spread apart from one another, traveling in pairs except for one patrolling through the machinery. They'd be easy enough to take down, though Hera had warned against using their blasters except for when absolutely necessary. Not only would the sound easily travel over the machinery and alert the other guards, but there were probably sensors designed to detect blaster fire in the hangars as well.

No problem- Sabine could just as easily use her hands and feet to take out the unsuspecting bucket-heads. She wasn't a Mandalorian for nothing.

She smirked under her helmet, quickly hopping off of her perch and moving towards the closest pair of troopers. She'd leave the explosives in their corner until the coast was clear- she didn't want to risk combat upsetting them and causing an early detonation while on her back. Dimly she wondered if the rest of her crew had enough sense to do the same. Probably.

Sabine was approaching the first pair of guards, and they were as of yet unaware of her presence. She'd pity the poor fools if they weren't her enemies.

 _Sorry boys, but I'm not willing to risk everyone I hold dear just because you won't keep your mouths shut. Especially when I'm still deciding on where I stand with one of them- you don't have a chance._ And just like that, Sabine was in combat mode, swiftly and deftly taking out any and all threats that she could see through her helmet. Honestly, these bucket-heads needed to step up their game. They all went down way, _way_ too easy.

Guess that was just what to expect with the Mighty Mando on their tail.


	11. Not as Planned

**Now then- this chapter is shorter (a _lot_ shorter) than the others, but one particular writing device I've employed in the past to great success has made a triumphant return... much to your discomfort, I believe. Although you guys have pretty much been prepared for this... }:I**

 **Disclaimer: Honestly, the day Disney decides to put Star Wars in my hands is the day the world goes mad. Because... well. Bad things would happen.  
**

* * *

 _There- that should be half-way!_

Nearly half a standard hour after he'd been smuggled into this accursed place, now Ezra had something else to do _other_ than the mindless repetition of placing bombs- touch his communicator to send his signal to Kanan and the others.

Oh the entertainment.

Ezra planted his forehead on his arm, content to just lie there in the vents for a little bit. He'd been doing his job well- there was now a bomb in almost every junction of the ventilation systems on the northern half of the tower's diameter, along with a few extras here and there when there was a straight piece for a significant length. And now that his job was half-done, that he didn't have to place so many- the plan called for twice the amount of bombs on section than the other, so it would fall in the direction they needed it to. Now that those 'extra' bombs had been placed, he just needed to place the minimum amount that was needed to make the tower fall.

Which, to be honest, was still a lot. He still had his work cut out for him, and he still had- most probably -another half hour to go. His back and leg muscles were already sore and protesting, and they'd be screaming even louder at him by the time he was done here. The entire trip wouldn't have had that much of an effect on him, to tell the truth, if only he hadn't been forced to go back and forth to resupply. Because that was the real problem- he'd gone back to Chopper's hidden room tens of times, going back and forth between the far edge of the tower and a point he deduced was almost in the middle.

All without making a sound. Which was rather frustrating, because being stealthy in the vents meant moving slowly. Which just made the entire ordeal that much more frustrating.

But still- it was half-way over now, and in another short (ish) amount of time, he could get out of this accursed tower. And maybe slump down in his bunk and just not move for a few days... or have Sabine poke a few pressure points to help him out. She knew a lot of them, something that Ezra'd witnessed first-hand when she'd taken down a stormtrooper with nothing more than a pinch to the small bit of exposed neck in their backside. She'd said that they could be used to take out enemies or to relieve pain, so maybe she'd be willing to help him out...

With that thought in mind, Ezra picked his head off his arms and started shimmying backwards. As slow and awkward as it was, he couldn't very well turn around in the cramped and narrow space. He'd be moving backwards until he came across a junction, which he'd stick his feet into and wheel himself around until he'd be facing the right way. He'd been doing that a lot. He was practically a master at it now.

 _Five... four... three... two- here_. Pretty much the only way Ezra'd been able to keep track of where his entrance and exit point was was by counting the exact number of turns and junctions he'd had to pass while going and getting away from it. Though it'd taken him a few tries to get the technique down, costing precious minutes when he'd originally gotten lost.

Wrapping his fingers around the grating, Ezra once again popped open the now loose grate that gave him access to the room below. Unlike the other times he'd come back to restock, Chopper wasn't there.

Which was a good thing- that meant he was on his way around the base, slicing and placing the looping code into the cameras around the three bays Kanan, Zeb and Sabine would be hitting. In a minute or two, Chop'd send out his own signal, verifying that the bays were safe to go into. Ezra had to admit- he hadn't worked with Chopper a lot in missions, but he seemed to be taking this one more serious than the others. Maybe it was because the Empire was finally starting to crack down on them, or maybe Hera'd finally broken through his obviously faulty compassion circuits and had installed some decency and common sense into him. It was probably the former.

Whatever the case, the droid's absence actually lightened Ezra's heart just a bit- the plan was going smoothly, and if all went well, they'd be out there in no time. Well, in a _little_ time, it'd still take him a bit to finish the tower, but they'd be over and done with the mission soon, with no one harmed and everyone safely aboard the _Ghost_.

Ezra honestly should have known better.

* * *

He'd only made two trips since his half-way signal, and was starting on his third in a new section when the inevitable happened-

The plan didn't go as planned.

 _I swear I won't be able to walk straight for da-_ the bottom of the vents crashed down to the floor below, bringing Ezra down with it. He collided onto the floor, the breath knocked out from his lungs as his stomach whammed into the deck. He only had a second to register ' _they put a trap in the vents!_ ' before a large, heavy boot came smashing onto his exposed back- effectively eliciting a cry of pain from Ezra as well as pinning him to the floor.

"Ah, I was wondering when you'd show up. You've kept me waiting, little Bridger boy."

It was commander Morden.

* * *

 **Return of the Cliff Hangers! Mua ha ha ha! }:I**


	12. Alert

**Hey guys- sorry for the delay. School's started up again, and all I'm gonna say is it is COMPLICATED beyond measure. The schedule changes every day- and I wish I was joking about that. I wouldn't be too surprised if updates take longer than normal for a bit, at least until everything settles down.**

 **And as for me leaving you guys on such a cliff hanger... well. Rest assured it was completely unintended, and... sorry. :3**

 **Disclaimer: With literally half an hour as the only time I have to myself these days, it's an actual physical impossibility that I own Star Wars or Disney. Like, physically. It, it can't happen.  
**

* * *

 _Done and done_ _\- now I just gotta get back to the others and watch the fireworks._ Sabine allowed herself to smile under her helmet. There was an explosive at nearly every operating system inside the bay, and when they all blew... there would be nothing of the machinery left but rubble.

She'd had to leave the finished and half-finished pieces pieces cluttering the sides of the bay alone, since she only had so many miracles to work with. But so what a few vehicles were left un-destroyed- they would seem insignificant once the entirety of the production line was reduced to smithereens. And that destruction would be evenly distributed across the entire facility, if the rest of her team hadn't had any hitches.

Dropping the bland bag on the floor, Sabine momentarily had the image of Hera tutting with a shake of her head at the loss of the pathetic piece of fabric. Oh well.

She began heading back to the open edge of the bay, ready to hop back over the lip and head back to the rendezvous point- The sound of a door opening behind her froze Sabine in her tracks.

"Be on the lookout- the rebels could be hiding anywhere in here." The filtered voice followed the marching footsteps of several stormtroopers, only just louder than the machinery around her.

 _How did they know!?_

Sabine darted behind a computer terminal, once again activating her helmet's scanner and peering around towards the entrance to the tower. She picked up four readings- four bucket-heads that were sticking together as a unit and moving out to search the bay.

 _Did Chopper's loop not last as long as we thought it would? It's only been ten minutes- it shouldn't have deteriorated_ that _quickly, Chop's a natural at coding!_

Sabine pulled her head back behind the terminal quickly as the patrol came closer. She'd have to take them out- either that or sneak past them and out to the northern bay to join up with the others. Sabine was leaning more towards the latter option... if they could escape with at least _some_ degree of stealth, it would go a long way towards ensuring a successful escape. Plus, if these stormtroopers saw her and managed to convey to their superiors that she was alone, that would lead the Imperial officers to conclude the rest of the crew was scattered around elsewhere.

No, sneaking out from the bay was most probably the best choice of action. Anything to make sure no more attention was brought to their presence in the factory- the bucket-heads wouldn't have a clue the rest if the Spectres were elsewhere until their facility was blown.

Shifting from her hidden position behind the terminal, Sabine was once again grateful for the machine noise that would drown out whatever sound she made. It'd make her escape that much easier: and mask her communication with Kanan.

Keying in the Jedi's frequency on her wrist device as she moved, Sabine nevertheless still kept an eye on the approaching Imperials. They were being smart in not splitting up- divided, they would have made _much_ easier targets. Sabine hoped they knew just how lucky they were that she'd decided on a stealthy exit instead.

"Spectre one, come in- I've got a patrol in here, our exit might have to be a little rushed." She half-whispered, edging around a corner and careful to keep her body from the hot sparks that flew from the welding machines. There was no response.

"Spectre one?" Only static filtered in through her helmet's microphones, and Sabine felt a little pool of dread start to form in the bottom of her stomach. "Spectre five? Two? Six? _Three?!_ " No one answered, and the little pool turned into a full-blown lake. The communications were jammed.

The Empire'd known they'd be coming.

It was a trap.

 _Okay, change of plans- immediate exit,_ NOW. If their presence was known to the Imperials, that meant there were teams inside both Zeb and Kanan's areas as well- they were all being hunted. The bucket-heads were probably sending patrols into every part of the base, to try and find the _Ghost_ crew and ambush them. Which meant they had to get out _now_ , before they had to run for their lives.

Sabine had made it all of three and a half steps before she stopped again.

 _Ezra._

He wouldn't know. He'd have no reason to comm anyone, he wouldn't know the communications were jammed... and unless they were throwing stormtroopers in the vents, Sabine doubted very much he'd have any idea there were patrols on the lookout for them, either. And with no way to contact him, the crew wouldn't be able to warn him of the trap until it was too late-

 _Wait- why did they wait so long until coming after us? If they knew we were here, why didn't they just come try to find us as soon as we got here? Scratch that, why weren't they already looking for us? Why wait? Unless..._

Unless the Empire had known they'd be coming, but not exactly _when_. Unless all they needed was a sign that the _Ghost_ crew was there before hunting them down. Which meant something had happened to one of the Spectres that'd alerted the Imperials to their presence. Since Chopper's looping code was one of the best, Sabine doubted either Kanan or Zeb had been spotted. Which only left-

 _Well, that's another change of plans. Sorry boys, you're not so lucky now._

If the Empire already knew the crew was in the tower, that pretty much eliminated the absolute need for stealth. Sure, it'd help, but the bucket-heads already knew they were in the facility. So a little action wouldn't hurt... her.

Springing atop the conveyer belt of identical metal husks, Sabine ran across it, heading backwards towards the doors and straight for the troopers. She ducked under mechanical arms and welders, twisting through metal limbs that had yet to take on the shape of the vehicle they were meant for, and jumped for a solid arch above the belt. She grabbed onto it with both hands and swung off of it- propelling her outstretched legs straight into one of the stormtrooper's heads.

They all cried out in shock, but Sabine was already using one man's face as a springboard to leap and punch another before they'd even lifted their guns. And by the time the two remaining ones _had_ drawn their blasters, Sabine had already pulled her own and quickly dispatched them in seconds.

"Sorry guys- duty calls." And she sprinted over their unconscious bodies, running for the set of blast doors that would lead her into the tower. She knew what floor Ezra had been assigned to- and she guessed if the Empire'd taken notice of his presence, he'd probably be in the very center of their operations.

Briefly, Sabine recognized just how reckless she was being. She was _literally_ charging headfirst into the enemy's territory, because she was half-convinced Ezra was in trouble.

 _Hey- even if he's not, he still won't have any idea about the trap, and we're all going to have to leave_ now _if we want to get out without dying. This isn't just because of some weird inner struggles of mine... and there is a very real possibility that he's in trouble. I have totally legit reasons for running in here._

Still. Sabine couldn't shake the feeling she'd gotten before when thinking about if Ezra died. Whether or not she had romantic feelings for the Spectre, she still feared for him. And if any foolish Imperial tried to stop her from getting him out of whatever trouble he'd landed in, woe onto them.

Nothing was stopping her.

* * *

 _No no no no no no NO this is not good, this is NOT GOOD we need to get OUT NOW-_

As if he'd be able to.

Three guards at the door. Four along the walls, two behind him, his hands cuffed in front of him, and his lightsaber on commander Morden's belt. The two bombs he'd been holding were on the desk in front of him, and with so many eyes in the room with him, Ezra couldn't even so much as _twitch_ in their direction without at least five blasters leveling themselves at his face.

The Empire had, Ezra'd grudgingly admitted, effectively trapped him. If his heart hadn't been desperately thundering against his ribcage, he could almost have admired their work.

As commander Morden had gloatingly explained, he'd had suspicions that his facility would be attacked ever since the _Ghost_ crew had taken out the mines. He'd heard of how the ventilation shafts had been used against the Empire, and so had trapdoors installed above the central areas in the tower that he believed would be targeted.

And Ezra hadn't noticed it. He hadn't noticed the latches on the ducts he'd been crawling over, and had been appropriately punished for it- now, Morden had ordered his men to hunt down the rest of the crew.

Because Ezra had screwed up.

And now, with Morden slowly pacing back and forth in front of him, tauntingly displaying Ezra's lightsaber on his hip with every pass, Ezra was trying with all his might to think of a way out. He needed to warn his crew- but, conveniently, his communicator had been instantaneously crushed and destroyed as soon as he'd made a grab for it. This commander was no joke- he wasn't just a typical push-over officer. Ezra had felt first-hand how much power the guy had. His left cheek was almost numb- the commander had very nearly dislocated Ezra's jaw when restraining him.

"I must admit- your particular group is quite good." Morden was saying, and Ezra's eyes were following him as he paced the room. "We didn't even know you'd infiltrated until we found you- of course, they wouldn't have remained hidden for much longer than this, I can assure you. You've been hitting far too many targets for the Empire to just shrug off their losses and continue on normally: extra measures have been put into place."

Ezra blinked, eyes narrowing. "Extra measures? Like what?" It wouldn't hurt to get some more information from this guy while he was at it...

Morden smiled coldly at him. "I see they train even their young to exploit any opportunity they get. Or were you just raised that way?"

Ezra scowled, swallowing past his pounding heart and trying to keep his fear off his face. He'd had practice. "If you think asking questions is exploitation, no wonder you guys think the rest of the galaxy is scum."

The commander chuckled darkly, shaking his head as though Ezra was only a child. "Don't forget- I know who you are."

"Well, that's kinda what happens when I'm on your most wanted list." Sarcasm and bravado to cover up the way his stomach was curling in on itself. He didn't have a lot of time- none of the crew did.

"Ezra Bridger- part of a highly dangerous terrorist cell. Force-sensitive, apprentice to the rogue Jedi also part of the cell. Known for utilizing ventilation shafts as infiltration measures, decent undercover operative."

"You flatter me."

"Son of Mira and Ephraim Bridger, orphaned at age seven and raised by the streets." Ezra bristled, eyes flashing with shock and brief anger before he got his emotions reigned in. So this guy had done his research- who cared?

But Morden appeared to have noticed his secondary flare-up, because the next moment he was right in front of Ezra, leaning in close enough to make him recoil slightly. The sharp blue eyes that pierced his own were as cold as Hoth, with the thin and imposing facial features surrounding them making his entire face seem pointed and... deadly. The assorted pieces of armor he had strapped on enhanced that look, and Ezra'd gathered enough to know those pieces weren't just for show.

"Oh yes- you are not as unknown to the Empire as you would like to believe. None of your team is." Ezra swallowed, but refused to let this creep see anything that could be classified as a sign of weakness.

"Hasn't stopped us from knocking your forces down before, and if you think it'll stop us now you're gonna have to go to a _lot_ of therapy when we're done."

Morden laughed- a chilling sound, and Ezra swore he saw one of the bucket-heads shift uncomfortably. "Oh yes- please, go ahead and tell me how _exactly_ you'll manage that when all your equipment is destroyed or lying on my belt." He gestured to Ezra's lightsaber and comm, his eyes narrowed into a predatory smile. Ezra glared at him, wishing he knew how to just wave his hand and make all the soldiers in the room ignore him as he escaped.

A red light flashed on the desk behind Morden, and the commander's eyes flicked towards it as a warning tone emitted as well. He moved off, pressing a control and apparently opening a communications channel. Ezra tensed, a sudden feeling preparing him for what he sensed as an opportunity.

"Wha-"

" _One of the rebels is wiping us out!_ "

Morden's face twisted into surprise and shock, and Ezra jumped into action.

Springing to his feet, Ezra leaped over Morden, calling out to the Force and snatching his lightsaber from the commander's belt. It flew into his hands, and Ezra welcomed the familiar weight of his blade. Twisting in mid-air, Ezra landed facing Morden on the opposite side of the desk, and was barely back on his feet for a mili-second before he was jumping yet again- underneath the desk, hands jumping to cover his ears as best they could while cuffed. Because Ezra had taken the opportunity to aim the blaster section of his weapon at one of the two smallest objects in the office.

With an explosion that rocked the room, Sabine's miracles detonated.

Looking back, it might not have been the best idea to remain inside the room while a highly damaging explosive was going off. The room wasn't large at all; it just a glorified office. The shockwaves would do more damage in the enclosed space than if they had been outside, leaving the entire space a danger zone.

Of course, looking back again, it was completely and _entirely_ reckless to just trust a simple desk with his safety when such a volatile material was in play. If his guess had proven to be wrong, he- along with the ten Imperials in the room -would be knocked flat out cold, or simply killed on the spot. If he ever told either Kanan or Hera, there would be lectures.

As it was, the desk was made of a stronger material than he thought- the explosion dented it heavily, but other than that Ezra was protected from the blast.

The bucket-heads were not.

Ears ringing and head throbbing, Ezra emerged from underneath the warped metal surface, the smell of conducted metal coming in right after the tang of smoke. The stormtroopers were knocked onto the floor, all unconscious. The flap in the vents that'd landed him in the situation in the first place was swinging violently. Ezra smirked slightly after coughing.

"Guess that answers your question, _commander_." Flipping his lightsaber down, Ezra awkwardly ignited the blade and cut through the metal cuffs, rubbing his wrists to try and get the blood flowing back into them. Now though, came the hard part. Ezra was going to have to run the entire way to the northern construction bay. He couldn't continue planting the explosives, not when the Imps knew they were there. They needed to escape now, and cut their losses.

 _I should just be able to take the elevator down to the ground floor and run out... I don't know which bay's the northern one, though._ He'd just have to hope and pray he'd be able to find it in time. Whatever the case, he needed to leave now-

An armored boot crashed once more into him, slamming into his side before his peripheral vision even had a chance to see it.

 _CRAACK._

Ezra gasped in pain even as he collided with the wall. That was one of his ribs, no doubt... and _that_ was commander Morden's foot.

Ezra's blood ran cold as he stared at the man who should, by all means, be lying unconscious with the rest of his squadron. The reason why he wasn't was painfully obvious, though- activated around his right wrist was a glowing blue portable shield, enhanced so that it covered a good portion of the commander's body. He must have been shielded from the blast with that the same as Ezra had been with the desk- and then Ezra realized the armor he was wearing wasn't modified stormtrooper gear, and he could've kicked himself for not noticing it sooner.

It was Mandalorian. Commander Morden was a Mandalorian, and Ezra was injured and alone with him. If he was anything like Sabine, Ezra was royally screwed in the notion of hand-to-hand, even without two or more cracked ribs. And the guy was enraged- blood was dripping down the right side of his head, tracing those sharp, cold lines and enhancing his deadly visage.

"I think you'll be regretting that pretty soon, Bridger boy." His voice was low and deadly- and trembling with anger. Knowing the signs and what to look for, Ezra could read the tell-tale twitch of the commander's hand before it even moved. He was prepared even before the man's fingers lunged for the hilt of his blaster- and Ezra slammed the guy into the far wall with his mind.

Using the Force when he was desperate seemed to be a recurring theme.

Knowing he couldn't hope to outrun a fit Mandalorian in the unfamiliar halls, Ezra took the one route he knew was semi-safe: the ventilation systems. There was already a gaping hole in the ceiling anyways, and he figured if he could fall through it before, he sure as hell could jump through it again.

He was in the vents once more before Morden was standing up again, hissing in pain as his ribs protested the quick movements. Ezra ignored them. Getting away from the enraged Mandalorian was the main priority- besides, this wasn't the first time he'd had to run away injured.

"You can't escape me!" Morden was shouting, his calm composure thrown out the window. Ezra found he liked it better when he'd had it in the first place. Shimmying as fast as he could, Ezra rounded a corner before the Imperial could stick his blaster through the hole and start firing at him. Which, as the shots sounded out, Ezra was rather glad he did. He didn't need more injuries, the ribs were problematic enough.

 _Karabast, that storage area's on the other side of the hole..._ Okay, so he wouldn't be going back there. He'd just have to find an elevator- he'd passed by one a few times in his rounds, he knew where it was. Once inside there, he could get down on the ground floor and make his way to the northern bay... hopefully before any of the crew was found.

 _Please be okay, just this_ one _time let's all escape without further injury... just this once._


	13. Meet-Up

**Disclaimer:** ***sings to Disney tune* When you wish on the Death Staaaaar- planets blow up near and faaaaar! Alderaan and Rebel ships aliiiiike aaaare doooooooomed.**

 **Sorry. Couldn't resist. :3**

* * *

 _Karabast-!_

One of them had managed to comm in for back-up. Sabine swept the legs out from the bucket-head in front with a low kick, snapping her blasters up and aiming high for the stormtrooper that'd called for help. He was down in seconds, but that didn't negate his actions. They knew she was in, now. Well. Further in than the production line, anyways.

 _Gotta move fast now- faster than before. Ezra I swear if I show up after all this and you've somehow gotten yourself killed anyways, there'll be hell to pay._

Sabine took off from the bodies of the most recent patrol, once again sprinting down the halls. They didn't have long now. If the Empire'd been following the attack plan Sabine thought they were, the other Spectres would have noticed the patrols as well. Either they'd simply taken them out and headed towards the rendezvous like Sabine had started to, or they'd realized the same thing she had and gone towards Ezra. She really hoped it wasn't the latter, because then they'd all be running around the complex with no idea where any of the others were.

Of course, with the amount of patrols she'd been running into, Sabine kind of doubted the rest of her team was following her actions. The majority of the Empire's forces were still looking in the hangars, based on the few numbers she was running into, which made Sabine doubt if they'd be able to manage a clean escape like she was hoping for. Still- one thing came first, and that was gathering everyone in the same location. Then they could worry about getting out of there.

But, as Sabine was quickly realizing, finding Ezra might be a little more difficult than she'd originally thought. She had absolutely no idea where he could be. And, as they'd noticed in the _Phantom_ , this place was _huge_. She knew what floor he should be scurrying around in... but not what section, or even the room Chop had stationed them in.

Comming him was out of the question, because if he _wasn't_ in trouble and was still doing his rounds, activating his communicator would undoubtably attract attention and land him in trouble anyways. And it the Imps had caught him... it was useless anyways.

Now, she could run around like an agitated Tooka, scanning the ceilings for life signatures as she went... but with the attention the bucket-heads were now undoubtably going to fix on her from that one's frantic comm, that would get real tricky real fast. Not to mention the task would be time consuming in and of itself. She'd have to run through the halls, checking inside every room, and even then there were places where the ventilation shafts wouldn't be accessible from the ground floor, meaning she could run past Ezra without even knowing it. _And_ there was also the matter of him being stealthy. He wasn't supposed to be found by anyone when he was in the vents, so he _wouldn't_ be found.

 _Of course, if he's_ not _in the vents because something happened, then me running around would be COMPLETELY useless..._ Apparently it helped to have a plan before running off to do something. She'd been a lot more enthused and willing when she was in the hangar... but now, out here, she had absolutely no idea where to start.

 _Maybe I could try and use the Empire's security system? No, if Ezra's hidden he won't show up on there. And then there'd be the issue of actually finding a place where I could actually hook into the system... no, sticking with just one target to find is a much, much better plan._ She'd just have to run around anyways, hoping to find him before any Imperials did... or before something more sinister happened. Sabine severely hoped she'd find him before any of the situations flashing in front of her eyes became a reality. Though with the size and complexity of this place, that would be easier said than don-

" _Karabast-_ "

Sabine froze, instantly stopping in her tracks, head whipping up to the ceiling so fast her neck popped. There was no way. There was no _freckin_ way.

Hesitating for just a second, Sabine reached upwards and tapped the ventilation shaft above her.

"Ezra?"

* * *

In hindsight, going up the ventilation probably wasn't the best idea. In even _more_ hindsight, it had kinda been his only choice. After all, it was suicide to try outrunning a fuming Mandalorian, especially with injuries. The vents were the only place he could hope to get some peace- even if it meant pushing his ribs to their limit in the cramped space.

Even breathing hurt, but Ezra knew enough to assess that his internal organs were most probably fine. If one of his lungs had been punctured, breathing wouldn't have just hurt- he'd be gurgling with every intake of air, which he thankfully was not. Still, he knew he'd probably have to have Hera force him to take it easy for a few days. And fuss over medical supplies. And proper treatment and eating habits. And... oh, she wouldn't be happy.

Although Ezra was more than grateful to even _have_ someone who could fuss over him like the Twi'lek captain. This wasn't the first time he'd sustained injuries to his ribs- a particularly nasty fall had mangled a few, and it'd taken nearly two month for it to settle on its' own. Those hadn't been fun times.

Progress was slow. Ezra knew he needed to be fast, because Morden was surely having all the vents inspected and every exit sealed. Not just for him, but for the rest of the crew as well. They should be able to override a gate, especially with the tools Chop had on him, but him waiting for his injuries wasn't in anyone's favor. Especially since the _Ghost_ crew was probably waiting on him in order to get out.

The lack of any alarms told Ezra they were still _mostly_ hidden, but that wouldn't last long. Not with every bucket-head in the building looking for them. Guilt curled unpleasantly in his stomach, and Ezra once again felt sick. If he'd noticed the hinges from the trapdoor, they wouldn't be in this mess. Morden had said they would have been found anyways, but that did nothing to appease his guilt. Not only that, but he was the reason they were most likely stuck in the northern bay- they wouldn't leave without him and he knew it. Until he got there, they were stuck.

And it was all his fault.

Ezra tried speeding up again, moving his arms faster and using his legs more than he usually would. It worked for a few seconds, and he made reasonably decent time- until he had to turn the corner. The curve his body made to fit through the junction sent pangs of pain through his entire chest, and Ezra couldn't help but cry out a little. He curled up involuntarily, his instincts forcing him to protect the sensitive area from further danger. Gradually the burning passed, though the pain kept coming with every breath. No, Hera wouldn't be happy at all.

 _Come on big baby, you have to get to the elevator. The crew's counting on you- a little pain is nothing compared to them._ Especially when it was his fault in the first place. He couldn't finish planting the explosives in the tower, but they'd have to settle for only hitting three of the production lines instead of all four. Getting everyone out alive was more important than that.

"Karabast-" The curse slipped out unintentionally as he continued forwards and another wave of pain rolled through him. Praying that there weren't any stormtroopers below him to hear, Ezra continued on before completely stopping at the sound of someone knocking on the ceiling a little ways behind him.

"Ezra?"

 _Sabine-_ Relief flooded his head. At least she was alright.

"Nope- just some other kid in the vents behind me."

"Ezra! Oh thank god ***** I found you; can you get down?"

She sounded relieved as well, though there was a certain shakiness to her voice that Ezra could only describe as worry. And, if she'd been running through the halls apparently looking for him, Ezra could deduce why- she'd noticed the Imperials were looking for them and had made the conclusion something bad happened.

Well, she wasn't wrong...

"Uh, yeah- give me a little bit, there's an opening a few feet ahead."

Ezra started moving once again, eyes narrowing a bit in pain. Just a moment after he'd started, Sabine tapped directly beneath him- and Ezra laughed a bit.

"Knew we were training together for a reason..."

Sabine chuckled as well, though it sounded strained. "I told Kanan it had a purpose, didn't I?"

"Yeah- I just didn't really think we'd play it out so soon." Ezra reached the vent's opening, pushing it open with one hand and dragging himself closer to it. Now came the hard part.

Gritting his teeth, Ezra lifted his torso off the metal and crawled over the opening, moving until he could get his legs through. No sense in going out head-first and trying to execute a flip that would do more harm than good. He dropped out feet-first and landed heavily, stumbling slightly and wincing. His actions weren't lost on Sabine, who was staring at him through the helmet. He noticed her hand was twitching slightly, as though she wanted to reach out to him.

"Ezra."

"Yeeeeaaaaah?"

"What happened." Her dead-pan actually weirded him out a little bit.

"Hey- I know I'm not exactly sticking to the plan, but neither ar-"

"I'm not talking about the stupid plan, what happened to _you_?!" She snapped, and Ezra wondered in the back of his head the exact reasons she'd been looking for him as she continued. "You're bleeding from your head-"

"I am?" He was.

"- you're hurting inside the vents and you're _wincing_ from _landing_ \- what _happened_?" Even though she'd calmed down at the end, Ezra still blinked dumbly at her. _That_ had certainly never happened before- Sabine always kept her cool.

"How did you know I was hurting in the vents?"

She huffed, seemingly deflating as she put her pistols away and walked up next to him. "You cursed loud enough for me to hear from outside. You _never_ make a noise when you're trying to be stealthy. And your face is really kind of pale. What. Happened."

Ezra smiled half-heartedly at her, scratching his head and immediately finding the blood she'd been talking about. "Hey, it's nothing, I'm fi-" He abandoned that trail of thought when she just looked at him. Even without the helmet, Ezra could clearly envision the 'don't-you- _dare_ -say-you're-fine' look she was giving him.

"Cracked ribs and I don't know about the head. But it doesn't matter- It was a trap all along, commander Morden knew we were coming and he's probably chasing after me right now. He's got soldiers looking for the rest of the crew as well." Sabine nodded firmly, telling Ezra that she had indeed noticed the searches and deduced the situation off of their appearances. She beckoned with her head back down the hall, and they quickly made their way down the hall and closer towards the elevator she'd no doubt taken to get up to his level.

Immediately as they turned the corner Ezra saw five unconscious stormtroopers- and he smirked. "Should've known you were the one wiping out the patrols; they were pretty scared when they commed the commander." Sabine grunted, but immediately switched back to her previous topic.

"Which side of the ribs? And _how_?"

Ezra grimaced slightly, though he thought he managed to pull it off as a slight smile. He knew she was watching even as they moved. "Like I said, it was a trap- they were waiting for us. Well, for _me_ , I guess. Left side; I met up with the commander, and let me tell you that guy has a _killer_ kick. He-" Ezra blinked at Sabine, who'd maneuvered herself up in front of him and on his left side.

"I'm not about to let you get yourself injured anymore than you are now- though you're gonna have to look after your own head. Make sure you don't get a concussion." Ezra pouted, slightly put out.

"I don't injure _myself_ , _others_ do."

"Yeah, I can see that. Morden was personally involved?"

Ezra nodded, serious again as they moved through the halls. He noticed Sabine wasn't moving as quickly as they both knew they should, but he didn't think he'd be able to go any faster to be honest. Just breathing hurt, he didn't want to try running.

"Honestly I think I just managed to stumble in on him in his _office_... Apparently he's been suspicious of us since we took out one of his main suppliers, so he had the vents rigged for traps. He'd installed trap doors in the center of the tower on every floor- well, basically wherever he thought I might hit up as a target. I... didn't see it. Let me just leave it with commander Morden's really good at welcome parties. Oh- and he's Mandalorian." That got Sabine's attention, and he nodded in response to her looking at him. He couldn't see her face, but he knew enough about her body language. It was like a cat's, really...

"Yeah, he's got armor a bit like yours, but more of it and _much_ less color and detail. And he kind of didn't take any damage when I activated a bomb." Sabine stopped abruptly, and Ezra almost bumped into her.

"You blew up one of the bombs?"

"I was far away enough from the others that I knew it wouldn't chain react with the ones in the ceiling, it was perfectly safe!"

"Please tell me you weren't in the same room with it when you did."

Ezra scratched his head. "Weeeeeeeell,"

Sabine sighed, then resumed walking. There was the elevator- relieved to step inside and _not_ find a dozen bucket-heads pointing blasters at them, Ezra nevertheless felt the need to defend himself.

"It was the only way I could get out of there! There were, like, ten people in there!"

"Oh, I'm not doubting you had a reason. It's just," Sabine keyed in the ground-floor to the elevator controls, "sometimes, I don't know why I worry about you; you can take care of yourself. It's times like _these_ when I _know_ why I worry."

"You worry about me?"

For the third time, Ezra didn't need to see her face to _know_ she was giving him a sarcastic look.

* * *

 ***There is actually a Mandalorian religion- there's a detailed article on Wookipedia if you want to look it up for yourselves. It's actually pretty interesting, though I'm not entirely sure it's canon now.**


	14. Separated

**Oh dear. Based on the comments, there are a few of you (mildly) concerned about the amount of hurt and tragedy yet to be written...**

 **Do you really think I'd let you guys down in that department? :}**

 **Disclaimer: Disney- hey chimongra, you wanna take over Rebels for a bit? chimongra- *heart attack***

* * *

 _'You worry about me?', seriously? Is that even a question? With all the stupid and dangerous things you do, who_ wouldn't?

Well, apparently this commander Morden. And, of course, like, the entirety of the Empire. Though their opinions didn't really matter much.

Sabine was _so_ so relieved when she'd heard him curse in the vents- until, of course, she realized what such an event indicated. But if he hadn't done so, she most likely would have run right by him and they'd _never_ find each other. From what it looked like Ezra'd been heading towards the elevator, so he must have either pieced together it was a trap or the Mandalorian commander had monologued and spilled his guts. The 'bad' guys tended to do that a lot.

Although with Hera's information describing him as a man of sharp intelligence and cold wit, Sabine couldn't see him- especially if he was a Mandalorian -simply telling all of his intentions and revealing all of his weapons and sources.

Her response to Ezra's _obvious_ question was interrupted when her earpiece beeped once, and then a half-static voice filtered through-

" _Spectre five, do you copy?!_ "

 _Hera?!_ How did she manage to get through the jamming? And, why was she actively _comming_ Sabine when further contact wasn't part of the plan until they were escaping? Unless... her stomach dropped as the implications of the Twi'lek's communication swamped her.

"Spectre two, I'm here with six- what's going on?"

She heard blasters in the background. The pit of anxiety grew deeper, and Ezra's face paled significantly as he too realized what Hera comming them signified.

" _Imperial troopers are swarming the_ Phantom _and there are anti-air cannons aiming straight for us- where are you two?!_ " Her suspicions confirmed, Sabine glanced at the progress level the elevator showed- and they were only half-way down.

"We're way, _way_ far away from the northern bay- and even if we weren't, the bucket-heads in here are all looking for us and Spectre six is injured."

" _Wha- how badly?_ " There was Kanan, and Sabine could register the sounds of his lightsaber deflecting shots even as he was talking. Things must be really bad there if he had to pull out the blade while just outside the _Phantom_.

 _Come on stupid elevator, move faster!_

"Just a few cracked ribs, but we probably won't be able to make it to you before-" Before they were overwhelmed. Before the anti-air cannons blew them to bits. "before things get really bad."

Sabine heard Chopper beeping fast and hurried- _Chop,_ that _'s how they broke through, especially with all the slicing equipment he has -_ and she caught a few calculations that she _reeeeaaly_ didn't like. They wouldn't last another minute waiting for her and Ezra to get there- and getting to the northern production lines would take much longer than that. She heard Hera curse- a rare occasion that heralded deep, _deep_ doodoo.

The elevator was still going down.

"We'll find another way out- tell them to go!" Ezra exclaimed, and Sabine was confused for a moment as to why he knew the crew was in trouble. Of course, the obvious solution hit her like a ton of bricks- _he can probably read me like an open book, like I can with him._ So much for discretion.

Knowing it was pretty much the only way they could hope to all get out in one piece, Sabine went with the newly improvised plan- hoping and praying that _this_ one wouldn't flop either. "Get out of there- we'll find someplace to rendezvous later where you guys _won't_ be blown up!" She could hear Kanan protests, and then there was the faint ' _twang_ 's of Zeb's bo-rifle that told her he was backing up slowly into the ship. That could only mean he was being driven back- _how many troopers_ are _there?!_

"Go!"

" _Go to the_ _front of the eastern bay- there are sewer tunnels, we'll meet up with you later and don't you_ dare _think of dying!_ " Sabine could hear Hera's reluctance- but it was the only option they had. And it gave them a chance to catch their breath and tend to their wounds- _oh god was anyone hurt?_ -before meeting up, without having to worry about the Empire jamming their signal. And the eastern bay was rather close- it was where Sabine'd come from, after all.

The earpiece fell mute, and she turned troubled but determined eyes to Ezra. He knew they were there. "Apparently they were hiding anti-air canons. They're going- and Hera's given us an escape route as well. Sewer tunnels, in front of the eastern bay." Ezra's eyes narrowed for a second, before he nodded.

"Those tunnels should be wide enough for us to go through- factories usually have wide ones. And it should lead either to a natural water source or to a trash complex; either way we'll be able to get a signal through once we're out." Sabine nodded, letting out a deep breath slowly. The crew wasn't in mortal danger now, they were safe, they were flying away... Now all she had to do was worry about herself and Ezra.

Which was honestly more work than one would expect.

The elevator slowed as it neared the ground floor, and Sabine tensed as she drew her pistols. They'd have to make their escape quick, especially now since Hera and the others were gone. The bucket-heads would either think all of the crew had escape or realize immediately that there were still two rebels in the compound- and based on her impression of their commander Morden, she didn't think they'd be going unnoticed. With Ezra injured- _how dare they hurt him_ -progress wouldn't be as quick as it should have been, but that didn't matter. With both her skills and his Force powers, they'd be able to get out of there in a timely fashion... if, as she'd hoped before, their newest plan didn't flop.

"There's three bucket-heads further in the corridor; I don't think they know we're here." Sabine glanced at Ezra to see his eyes closed, and she was thankful for his foresight. The doors opened as the elevator ground to a halt, and the three troopers she'd been aware of were down in seconds- both her pistols and Ezra's hybrid made short work of the unsuspecting guards.

"Come on- Morden's probably getting the entire compound on us right now." She hurried him out, and they jogged back the way Sabine had come running down earlier, when she'd thought Ezra was in mortal danger. Now she _knew_ they _both_ were, and yet she was oddly calmer. She still wasn't calm- far from it. But she had him here now, and so help her _nothin_ _g_ was going to hurt them.

Within reason.

But whatever sort of luck they'd had with their as of yet sparse encounters with the bucket-heads had apparently run out: in just the distance from the elevator to the mouth of the bay, the two had encountered three more units of buckets. Twice more Ezra had warned her mere moments before, but the third time even _he_ was taken by surprise. Sabine had a nasty feeling it was because he was pushing himself. He'd steadily been turning paler, but he refused to slow down. If she'd had her way he'd be walking, but she didn't- and they had to make due with what they had.

"Right here-" Sabine palmed the keys to open the bay-

And nothing happened.

"Karabast! They've overridden the doors..." Both she and Ezra were experienced slicers, but doing such things meant spending time- a luxury they couldn't afford to waste. Grim-faced, Ezra produced one of his ever-present tools from his ever-hidden pockets and crouched down at the control system. Sabine raised her pistols, not ever having holstered them, and stood by his back. It was well she did, because a moment later he was warning her:

"Left side!"

And she was shooting again, placing herself between the four troopers and Ezra as he continued with the door, trusting her to cover him as the bucket-heads were taken down. This wasn't good; with the squads appearing as quickly as they had been, they would no doubt be swarming the areas around the production bays, hunting them down.

Although, if those bays were all overridden like this one, then the last place the bucket-heads would suspect them to be was _in_ them, giving her and Ezra at least a semi-easy exit through the bay and into the sewers beyond. Sabine'd be able to blow the bombs once they were far enough away, so they'd at least escape having done _some_ damage to the facility. But getting out came first- and as Ezra hissed in pain, Sabine realized that might be even harder than they thought.

"What's wrong?!"

"Nothing- just a little shock, I'm still in the system..."

Their conversation in the cockpit on maintenance day reappeared in her head even as her stomach lurched with nerves.

"Remember, you said you'd re-connect every wire that came my way and keep me safe from all the shocking conduits- you better live up to that, mister." Briefly, Ezra looked at her in shock, but then there was that cocky smile she was so used to seeing, distorted though it was by the paleness of his skin and the pain he was trying to conceal.

"A promise is a promise, o' Mighty Mando-" The console beeped with a green light, and the doors slid open- "-and a Bridger never forgets." Sabine grinned at him, knowing he saw it through her helmet, and she extended a hand to help him up from his crouched position. It did worry her slightly that he winced just getting on his feet, but knew this wasn't the time or place to force him to take everything gently. Both she and Hera would tend to _that_ once they were safe on the _Ghost_.

They hurried inside, and Sabine closed the blast-doors as soon as they were inside. They'd be able to get a little respite if the bucket-heads still thought everything was normal and the bay was still sealed, giving them the time and peace to leave. They'd made it only half-way across the bay when that illusion shattered.

Ezra stiffened next to her, and half a second later there were bucket-heads _everywhere_ , leaping out from machinery and half-finished vehicles as their blasters fired with a will of their own.

Sabine only _just_ got the both of them behind cover in time, dragging Ezra behind the metal husk that she'd designated 'safe'. There were at least ten stormtroopers, probably more, and they'd been taken by surprise.

 _WHY did I turn my sensors off- no, why didn't I just think that this Morden guy would be smart enough to put back-up forces inside the bays?! He obviously_ knows _our profiles, it wouldn't be a surprise to him if we were able to slice through his override._ It was stupid on her part- incredibly so, actually. Especially if this guy was as smart as Ezra was telling her; she shouldn't have underestimated him.

And now there were a dozen bucket-heads firing behind cover at them, and Sabine couldn't use one of her miracles becau-

 _THE BOMBS._

She had a moment of unbridled horror as events played out. A stormtrooper shot his gun. There was a tight grip on her upper arm. The blast hit one of her carefully placed explosives, and then all hell broke loose as the room exploded around them.


	15. Outside Perspective

**Yo- let me tell you guys, I wasn't actually planning on doing a chapter in the rest of the crew's point of view, but azulablue92 gave me the idea of Hera, Zeb and Kanan watching the bay explode and it wouldn't leave my head. The next chapter is almost ready, so it should be up by tomorrow- but I can't make any promises. Laptop finally died, the only other computer I have access to is everyone's- so updating may get a little hard, but I'll stick with you guys if you stick with me. :)**

 **Disclaimer: Dudes, if I were head of Disney/Star Wars, I'd have a replacement laptop like THAT. But I don't. And that makes me sad. :(**

* * *

Hera knew Kanan wasn't at _all_ satisfied with how things were going.

She knew he'd been reluctant to let Ezra go in there alone in the first place- but leaving both him and Sabine? Well, understandably, that took things up a notch. They all knew both Sabine and Ezra were capable of taking care of themselves... but she'd seen even Zeb's ears perk up in worry when the Mandalorian had mentioned Ezra's injuries.

They were leaving them in a hostile facility. With enemies swarming around the entire place to look for them. With injuries. And no direct way out. Yes, Hera had given Sabine the option of the sewer tunnels, but they couldn't guarantee that that route would even be _possible_ for the two Spectres to go down through. And Hera didn't have the schematics for where it came out- she had a feeling she'd be able to look up that information in the data package Fulcrum had sent, but that was back on the _Ghost_...

And the further she drove the _Phantom_ towards their home-ship, the further her hopes sank.

They were _teenagers. Kids_. Capable- yes. But they were _kids_. And they were alone- and Hera was flying away from them. Granted, she knew there was no other option; the _Phantom_ 's shields had been down to three percent by the time Hera had finally recognized leaving and regrouping later was their best chance at coming away unscathed.

Or, mostly unscathed. Both Kanan and Zeb had attained some new battle-scars- nothing major, just a burn to Kanan's upper left forearm and most probably heavy bruising on Zeb's middle. There had been nearly twenty soldiers waiting to ambush them- and they'd been smart. Or, most likely, the commander ordering them where to go had been smart. They'd taken cover from behind the finished and half-finished vehicles scattered around the bay, where Hera wasn't going to risk shooting for fear of upsetting the bombs and blowing both Zeb and Kanan away. Likewise, both he and the Lasat had to fire with care- while the stormtroopers, facing _away_ from the bombs, had been firing without worry.

Of course, the four Spectres might have been able to handle that and still make an exit with Sabine and Ezra if it hadn't been for the anti-air craft canons cleverly hidden in the walls. Apparently, this commander Morden of the facility was even sharper than her intelligence suspected- instead of installing the canons on the roof, as was per Imperial standard, he'd built them on the inside behind the walls, making them accessible to shoot any outside intruders with the addition of mechanic sliding hatches. Hera hadn't noticed them until their barrels had protruded from the walls of both the tower and the storage areas next to the construction bays and started firing at the _Phantom_.

Powerful, hard to hit, and machine operated with targeting systems, Hera had almost no window of opportunity to fire back at the canons, leaving her with little offense _and_ defense. Combined with how many enemies there were... if Sabine hadn't called them off when she did, Hera probably would've been _forced_ to retreat.

"How long?" Kanan asked, and if Hera listened hard, she could've heard his voice crack just _ever_ so slightly. She knew these things about him. And she also knew that despite his lack of clarification, he wasn't asking when they could go _get_ their Spectres, but when would they _have_ them.

Hera gestured to the _Phantom'_ s dash and his own injuries. "Maybe an hour? More? We can take the _Ghost_ (once Hera docked the _Phantom_ she doubted it would take off again without engine repairs), but those sewers have a lot of branches- multiple waste sites so they don't immediately clog one. My guess is that they'll take the simplest route, but if they're being pursued..." Chopper beeped from the back of the _Phantom_ , and Hera nodded her head in agreement.

"And that's just assuming they'll take the sewers in the first place. The best thing to do would be wait until they get out of range of the jamming, comm us and give us their location-"

Hera's scanners went red, and there was a faint 'boom' behind them. Fearing another attack, Hera spun the _Phantom_ around to try and make out any missiles or other weapons streaking towards them-

And the four Spectres inside saw one of the factory bays go up in smoke. Hera's eyes went wide, and Kanan stiffened behind her while Zeb lumbered off his seat to get a better look at the explosion. "Was that... the eastern one?" Zeb asked woodenly, trying not to show emotion because their two _crew-mates_ were supposed to be in there-

"...Yes-"

Zeb cursed behind her, and Kanan's already clenched fists started sporting white knuckles. Hera's head raced, trying to put together a situation in which Sabine and Ezra would _need_ to activate those bombs. Distraction maybe?

No- if they blew up the bombs as a distraction, Sabine would have used her wrist activator to blow the ones in the western or northern bombs to blow the stormtroopers off their trail. She wouldn't blow the eastern to cover their tracks... which meant some other force had blown the bombs. Hera _desperately_ hoped neither of her Spectres had been close enough to-

Hera swiveled her head around to look at Kanan behind her. Chopper had been forced to give up control of the station's jamming frequencies, leaving them unable to communicate with Sabine or Ezra. Kanan was the only one who could shed even a little light on the situation, who could know if something major had happened-

"...I think they're alive." His face was stretched thin and his eyes looked gaunt as he focused, staring at the ball of flame that was quickly dying down. "I know Ezra is, I can feel him, but..."

But they had no eyes on Sabine.

Hera's gut clenched, and she felt an overwhelming _need_ to go back and help- but the _Phantom_ would be useless. It could barely hold off a single Tie fighter now, much less an entire station bristling with anti-air canons. If she went back to help Ezra and Sabine, she was almost completely certain they would be taken out.

They had to leave.

They had to leave, and wait, and study the schematics of the sewers, and when they received a call with their Spectre's locations, they would spring. Hera comforted herself with that. It didn't have much effect, though. Her crew was still in that tower- and she had to leave them entirely on their own to get themselves out.

They didn't have a choice. Sabine and Ezra were under their radar now, and they could only find them when they called out. Until then, she and Kanan and Zeb and Chopper would just... wait.

And hope and pray to whatever gods there were that they had both made it through the explosion.


	16. Inside Fire

**I am doing my best with updating with limited equipment to do so- it just may take an extra day or two added onto the schedule. I promise I am working! Love you all to much not to.**

 ***UPDATE* After recieving several concers about the blood in Sabine's throat, I felt I needed to clarify- she'd bitten her cheek in the explosion, and the resulting blood basically trickled down to her throat. I've added a few more sentences actually in the chapter, so if you want more details on that it's down below. Sorry for any confusion! (Though we all know I'm not above basic torture :3)**

 **Disclaimer: Plot is mine. Characters are not. Universe is not. Technology is not. Abilities are not. Terminology is not... are we getting the pattern here?**

* * *

For the second time that night- that _hour_ , even -the room blew up around Ezra. With him in it. Of course.

There was that split second beforehand, when an instinct curled up in his blood that _leapt_ \- and he knew there was deadly danger. He knew in his bones and in his veins what would happen before it did, and in that split-second of awareness, there also came the realization that if he didn't _move_ , he would die.

Directly after that came the second realization that if he didn't move _Sabine_ , she would too.

Not pausing to think- because thinking was always slow compared to the instincts of the Force -Ezra lunged, grabbing the top of Sabine's arm and _pulling_ \- pulling them both away as the bombs chain-reacted and blew the entire production line to smithereens. If he had been a second, even a _half_ a second slower, both he and Sabine would have been caught in the blast and incinerated. Instead, they were both catapulted forwards by the Force, hurled sideways to take cover behind the half-finished vehicle on the side. Ezra held onto and grounded their cover with his mind, knowing that the durasteel would withstand the debris but not the force of the explosion itself without help.

But panic blossomed in his stomach once more as the roar of the explosion drowned his senses, because Sabine was _gone_ \- torn from his grip and flying away, energy of her own bombs propelling her as Ezra lost her. He would have leapt after her- but there was more danger, incoming to the both of them. There were welders and torches and metal and _ceiling_ flying outwards and falling down- heavy and sharp and propelled through the air fast enough to crash through the husk of a vehicle or skewer them- no, those huge chunks of debris would most likely just squish them to a paste.

With focus he'd never achieved except for meditation, the large pieces debris flying towards them were halted in their tracks, the flame and explosions of the bombs washing around them as they were cast _away_. Roaring flames heated the metal husk with which he was trusting his life, flowing around the edges, turning them cherry-red and slightly melty.

 _Sabine-!_ was a far enough distance away from the blast; she should be fine. Focus on not letting chunks of the platform or the ceiling squish you both flat. Metallic thuds followed through the flames as the smaller pieces the Force hadn't screamed at him were dangerous slammed into the ground and surrounding vehicles, denting the finished and half-finished products that lined the sides of the once functioning production line. The roaring of the bombs and the screeching of metal bombarded him even as his hands leapt to cover his ears, and he screwed his eyes shut against the blinding light of the fire.

All of this happened in less than three seconds.

The rest was simply standing there as the shock waves dissipated near instantly and the forces behind the blast died down. Then there was silence, which Ezra took to meant as the explosion deafening his ears. He moved his jaw forcefully, and they popped- blood trickled down the left side of his neck as his hearing came back.

 _Ruptured eardrum- not surprising, since this is the SECOND explosion in ONE day. Just be thankful_ both _of them didn't burst..._ It wasn't that serious, if he didn't do anything to it it'd heal on it's own with a bit of time. Until then, a ruptured eardrum was the least of his worries.

Ezra coughed, acidic smoke merging with the smell of melting metal and drifting through the air. His chest burned, but he payed it no mind. Based on the fact that there were no more lasers flying at them, the stormtroopers hadn't been as lucky with avoiding the explosions. Kind of expected, really. On a good day they didn't even have enough reflexes to handle Chopper- even with Ezra's _Jedi_ reflexes he'd only barely gotten out okay. The bucket-heads didn't stand a chance.

And now, the entire eastern production bay was awash with acrid smoke, quickly floating upwards into the exposed night sky. If Ezra hadn't been concerned with a million other things, he would have found the situation amusing: most of the ceiling was blown away, yet the surrounding walls were still upright (if a little scorched), leaving them in a huge box open to the world.

More important things first.

"Sabine?!" He couldn't see the colorful Mandalorian- he was convinced she was still alive ( _she has to be_ ), but he didn't know _where_. Or if she was okay. He'd done the best he could under the situation, but as he'd learned in the past- sometimes his best just simply wasn't enough. Panic rose in his chest when he didn't receive an answer, and Ezra stumbled a few steps away from his cover, legs slightly jelly-ified. Nerves. He _did_ just stand through an explosion. And his best friend wasn't answering.

"Sabine!" _Why isn't she answering._ She knew as well as he did that they had to get out of there fast- especially now that the bombs had been detonated. The explosion would have registered on the Imperial's sensors, and Morden would send twenty troopers down- including himself, most likely. They had to _leave_ \- and Ezra was panicking for a completely different reason.

"Sabine where are you?!" Ezra whipped his head back and forth, searching the scorched rubble for any color or sign of her, but seeing nothing but the dull grays and piping hot reds. There were small fires still burning, not a threat but still to be noticed. Ezra moved out, clambering atop an overturned drilling frame and searching from his new higher vantage point.

Coughing- and then a subdued "O'er here-" brings waves of relief to Ezra's already shaky knees. She was _alive_. He scrambled down and towards the voice, slipping slightly as the hot metal gave way and slid to the floor with a dull 'thud'. "Sabine! Oh thank the Force; are you okay?!" Of course, 'okay' was a relative term. And even more so with her stubbornness that so matched his own. But he needed to know.

"Over he-" There's more coughing, and Ezra didn't like the fact that she only repeated her earlier phrase instead of giving an answer. But now he has a definitive location to match her floating voice.

"Hold on- I got you out of the direct line of fire from the blast, but I couldn't keep a hold of you so you went a little... further than just behind cover." _Yeah, just a LITTLE. As in nearly twenty feet-_ He wouldn't be surprised if the whiplash from her flight alone had dazed her.

 _There-!_ Paint-splattered legs, hanging out sideways from a raised platform. They didn't look broken, so that was okay at least- Ezra felt his knees wobble dangerously as the overwhelming ' _she's alright_ ' drowned the rest of his thoughts. He shook his head. They couldn't celebrate until they were safely outside the complex. There was a sheet of metal obscuring the rest of her body from his immediate view, but the fact that she'd called out to him meant she was just buried underneath it, not squished flat underneath it. The fact that there was only a small margin between the two possibilities sent Ezra shivering despite the immense heat rising from the flames and the conducted metal. _I should have kept a tighter grip on her-_

"Just give me a second- I can see you, but there's a sheet of metal in the way, I just need to move it and we can get out of this place." And what a relief it would be to finally do so. Once again connecting with the Force, Ezra concentrated past the burning in his lungs and lifted it away from his friend. It felt heavier in his head than he thought- it took him far longer to move it away than he would have liked.

Panting heavily, Ezra lifted his eyes to greet the Mandalorian. And froze.

* * *

 _Ow._

Her head was ringing. Her body was aching. She was spinning. No she wasn't- that was... just her head, right?

 _How can my head spin on it's own?_

No no no, it just felt like it was spinning... although it _really_ really felt like it was physically moving too. That... that shouldn't- that wasn't healthy. Heads were supposed to stay still. Right?

 _I think that's right- ow._

Eyes opening slowly. When had they closed? For how long? A little voice in her head was whispering only seconds, but it felt like she was waking up after hours of unconsciousness. Why was she unconscious? Was she sleeping? No. Sleeping wasn't painful.

"Sabine?!"

There was noise- someone was calling out. They were calling out her name. That was her name... she was almost positive. So who was calling? They must be close- they were loud. Unnaturally loud. Why didn't they quiet down? Didn't they know how rude they were being?

"Sabine!"

She was half-tempted just to ignore the person. It'd serve them right, shouting so loudly and being so rude. Or was that distress? Were they scared? Was that why they were yelling?

 _Concussion_ - _major_.

What an odd word. What did it mean again? She was positive she knew... somewhere. How could she forget? Did she forget? Did she ever really know? Why did that word pop up?

"Sabine where are you?!"

The screaming voice was urgent. And afraid. Why was it afraid? Was the yelling person scared? Were they scared of her? That seemed right... after all, she was the Mighty Mand-

 _Ezra-!_

Urgent. She needed to get up. She needed to call out- and she needed to understand, she needed to _know_ \- who was Ezra? No, she knew him- who was he to _her_? Why was she so confused? She _knows_ him; why is there a question?

Dusty lips open, and there's a tang on her tongue. Blood, she thinks. _That's my blood. What's it doing on my face?_ No matter- she had to answer the question. But she needed him there. Or did she? Wasn't it all in her head? Someone had said the entire matter was all in her head... was it her? Was she questioning her thoughts? About him? What was her conflict? And why was there even any conflict if she knew him?

"O-" Coughing. And then there was more tangy liquid in her throat. That was better- blood was supposed to be inside, not outside. Right? There was supposed to be blood there? Though it was trickling down from her mouth- blood was supposed to stay inside in one area, right? Or was it _supposed_ to move from her mouth to her throat? She didn't know, but she swallowed and it was gone.

 _Try again._

"O'er here-" There's shuffling, there's movement and then there's change. The dark and dusty gloom that didn't let her see anything shifted, and then there was light. No- there was always light, she'd just not registered it. She thought. But there _was_ movement. Dust and smoke are drifting upwards- and then there's the smell, the smell of _burning_.

 _Fire- is there fire?_ No- there were bombs. There were bombs, and explosions. Those were good things, she knew them. She made them. She knows them. But why was she hurting? She knows them, but did they hurt her? _He_ wouldn't hurt her, she knows that. He wouldn't do _anything_ like that. Except to her head. He was in _there_ , and making her head hurt. Or was that just the ground. Or the blood?

"Sabine! Oh thank the Force; are you okay?!" There's the voice- _his_ voice. _Ezra_ 's voice. And it's not scared anymore. That's a good thing. That's always a good thing. Not scared means no danger. She thinks. But why did he stop talking?

"Over he-" She coughs, and then there's more blood. It's splattering in the air in front of her- not the air. Her helmet. Her hat. Her helmet-hat is now splattered with blood. She blinks at it, narrowing her eyes in annoyance. Blood was supposed to _stay_ on the _inside_ , what was it doing going out?!

The ground shifts beneath her, and she groans as her head spins again. No, it wasn't spinning, it was just... spinning, why was it spinning?

"Hold on- I got you out of the direct line of fire from the blast, but I couldn't keep a hold of you so you went a little... further than just behind cover."

Sabine listens to him talking, and starts smiling like an idiot because she has no idea what he's saying. His voice is nice, though, so she doesn't mind. Somewhere in her head is screaming that that's a bad bad thing, but why would it be? Language is hard. The smile turns into a frown. But she was _supposed_ to understand him. She was _supposed_ to know him. So why wasn't she? It was his fault, he wasn't making sense. If she was supposed to know him, _he_ was supposed to be known.

But she didn't know his label. Was he a friend? Wasn't he more? Was he interested? Was she interested?

 _Why don't I know these things? I need to know these things-_

A question. There was a question, a really important question. She talked about it with... with... the green one. She talked about it because she needed to know.

 _That's right- those sign things. They made me think weird stuff. About him. Because I like him._

So that was the question- or did she just answer it?

 _Wait- isn't he supposed to... no, even better- I'm supposed to think about this stuff. Because he doesn't know. He's oblivious- do I like oblivious people?_

"Just give me a second- I can see you, but there's a sheet of metal in the way, I just need to-" Woah there, not-oblivious alert! He knew metal! And he saw her! So he wasn't oblivious.

 _Well sorry- not oblivious, not liked. Because that's-_ No, that was wrong, because she _did_ like him... right? Did she?

The world shifted, and light spilled over as the wall- that wasn't a wall -to her left fell down. There was a big crash, and Sabine scowled. She liked him! But, no? Did she? What was it?

There he was- there was blood on _his_ face too. Apparently they both had rebellious blood. Rebel- that meant something. They were both rebels. They fought- with each other? No. _With_ each other, against the buckets and... and shocking conduits. That was important.

 _Oh- it's simple. The answer is simple._

She looked at his face, understanding dawning as she lay there. Of course. It was _so_. _Simple_. Why didn't she get it before? _I know the answer to the question now- aren't you happy about that?_ He should be happy. She was. So why were his eyes so big? And his face white? _Was_ he scared of her? No, there was trust with them- he was scared _for_ her? Was that why he was looking at her? No- he wasn't looking at _her_. He was looking at her _stomach_.

And the obvious source of her pain.

* * *

While Ezra may have protected the both of them from the brunt of the blast, accounting for the fire and the shock waves and the main pieces of debris... there was one aspect of the explosion that he had completely let slip by his radar. Shrapnel. Tiny, small enough to be insignificant against their hard metal shields, but big enough to make an impact against soft flesh.

And stab straight through Sabine's abdomen.

* * *

 **Tee hee, you guys thought I was done with you... :3**


	17. Black Out

**Dear Lord above I am _SO_ sorry for the delay- I swore I wouldn't go past four days once Deadly Intrigue was done, and by everything that is holy I'm going to _stick_ to that oath. Trust me, I'm writing in school (when I can) and typing it up at home (when I can) and desperately trying to revise... believe me when I say that I am doing _everything_ I can to deliver in a timely fashion. Sorry for making you worry... 'specially you, AzulaBlue92. ;)**

 **I have clarified the blood in Sabine's throat that quite a few people were worrying about last chapter; I honestly didn't intend for anything serious by it. She basically just bit her cheek and it bled a little, but thank you all you wonderful people who pointed it out! I have little to no medical knowledge of my own (funny. with how often I injure my characters you'd think I would :3), so any advice is welcome and gladly taken!**

 **Also, Ezra _may_ or may not share my views about Kanera.**

 **Disclaimer: Dudes, if there was this much delay in Rebels producing their next episode, there would be _riots_. Be _glad_ I don't own it. Also because cliffies. Although this one's not that bad, I swear!**

* * *

For the second time that day, the only thought going through his head was ' _No no no no no no NO this is not good, this is NOT GOOD_.' Except this time it was less derived from personal danger, and more so because his _best friend had been impaled_.

"Holy- Sabine, are you-" Okay? NOPE. "Did it go all the way through?!" That was important, he knew- his head was screaming at him, his nerves a jumbled mess of _NO_ -, but he knew exit wounds meant a lot of damage. As if there wasn't enough already!

Ezra scrambled over to her, tripping on the various pieces of debry he was now cursing with everything he knew. "The shrapnel- I didn't think about the shrapnel, I didn't think it'd fly so far-" There was a lot of blood- too much blood. Too much. It was staining the soft grays of her under-armor a harsh black, and the tangy smell had never been more present in Ezra's life. His hands hovered, not knowing what he needed to do as his head panicked.

 _How do I help?! How-_ Stop the bleeding, that came first. No- he needed to get the metal out of there, _then_ stop the bleeding. But- if he pulled out the shrapnel, wouldn't that only make the bleeding worse!? What- _what do I need to do?!_

"Sabine- I don't know how to- how to help; you have to-" His voice was shaking. His _everything_ was shaking, was trembling- how- what was he supposed to do!? "You need to tell me what to do- Sabine, I don't know-"

Her hand waved vaguely in his direction, and he was alarmed (even more so) at how sluggish her actions were. "Don't worry-" she murmured, voice soft and half-soothing. "-I know the answer. You don't have to worry now, I know the answer."

Relief crashed through him, and Ezra nodded, his eyes darting towards the blast doors, still shut. Troopers would be there in minutes- but he had to tend to Sabine, or she'd never make it- "What do- what do I need to do, tell me." Because oh god he had no idea what he was doing. He just needed her to tell him _how to help_ and then _by the Force_ , he would _help her_. He couldn't not.

"No no no, you don't _understand_ \- I know the _answer_." That relief slowed as Ezra grew uncertain.

"Yeah, just- just _tell_ me, I need to know how to _help you_ -"

"But I don't _need_ help, I already figured it out! _I know!_ " And the relief completely stopped in it's tracks, growing cold and making Ezra's stomach curl in on itself unpleasantly.

"Sabine- how do I help you? _Please_?" She shook her head at him, and he was just able to make out her smiling softly with unfocused and glazed eyes through the helmet's visor. Ezra's heart sunk. She was concussed- majorly. To the point where she couldn't tell him what he needed to know- what he needed to _save her_ and _get out_.

 _Don't panic don't panic- not working, already panicked,_ Desperate, Ezra closed his eyes for just a second and tried to calm himself. Just like Kanan had taught him, he focused on slowing his erratic breathing. While it failed miserably to actually do anything of the sort, the familiar ritual _did_ kick his brain into gear.

They needed to leave. Sabine couldn't travel; the only way Ezra would be able to carry her was binding her on his back. And he wouldn't be able to do that if there was a hunk of metal in her- and if it was sharp, movement would cause it to wiggle around and possibly cause even more damage. It had to come out- and Ezra'd have to bind the wound it left, to stop the major bleeding.

No- he'd have to cauterize the wound, to make sure she wouldn't bleed out... oh Force. He was going to have to cauterize the wound. With his lightsaber. On _Sabine_. On his _friend_. He had a vague inkling on just how _painful_ that would be- and he'd have to do it. He'd either have to watch her bleed to death, or inflict _massive_ amounts of pain on her. And he didn't have the time to steel himself- he had to do this _now_.

 _Calm down- if you don't everything's gonna go to hell_ _REAL quick_. That, at least, he knew.

"Ok- Sabine, I-I'm gonna have to- have to take out this shrapnel, I-"

"I trust you."

Those three words slapped him right in the face, and Ezra looked at Sabine with wide eyes.

"Do what you gotta do- _you_ won't do me wrong. You _never_ will- I trust you."

 _She-_

"Sabine, I'm _literally_ playing with your _life_ here-"

"And I trust you with it."

She was completely serious. Even concussed to the point of deliriousness, Ezra could hear the familiar edge in her voice that she only got when she was dead serious. And she was- Ezra doubted she was even able to string together the facts that she was in fatal danger, but even in that state of mind, she was completely and _undoubtedly_ certain...

She trusted him with her life.

That was far, far more than Ezra would ever ask her to trust him with... but he sure as hell wouldn't let her down.

Nodding vigorously to clear his head, Ezra looked back at the shrapnel and the blood- and his rationality kicked into gear. He had to act fast, and he had to act _now_. But he couldn't mess up. They'd have to take the sewers still; it was the only safe way out- but to do so would mean that Sabine's wounds would have to be bound extra securely after he was done, in order to prevent any infections or sickness.

 _She trusts me to do this_.

"Okay- okay. This is really, _really_ gonna hurt, though, just... just warning you." Sabine hummed, her hands waving vaguely around in what Ezra could only interpret as an invitation to continue.

He took a deep breath, letting the familiar start of meditation try to calm his nerves. Sabine trusted him to do this. He could do it- he would. He had to.

For her.

* * *

Ezra grunted, pain from his ribs very nearly making him black out. He knew the proper medical treatment for broken ribs was most _definitely not_ to lug around someone very nearly his own weight while hunched over; it was the only safe way for Sabine to travel, though.

He huffed, eyes blurring slightly. Or maybe they didn't- there wasn't any lighting in the sewers except for Ezra's lightsaber, he couldn't really be sure about his vision, or lack thereof.

 _I'm just glad they have minimal waste today- otherwise this entire trip would be a_ lot _more interesting_. _And disgusting_.

The water levels in the tunnels were only up to Ezra's calves, for which he was thankful. Not only because it was _sewer_ water, but also... any higher and he'd be risking the choppy waters splashing up onto Sabine. And that was the _last_ thing she needed: the wound in and of itself was already serious, she didn't need an infection on top of it.

Sabine was laying backwards on his spine, her back on his, legs trailing below and behind his own with her feet _just_ under the water. He'd wrapped her wound tightly in his jacket after... after he'd done what he could, and then proceeded to tie the sleeves around his waist so there was an extra tether connecting her to him. Well, the _only_ tether, actually... other than that, the only thing keeping her from splashing down into the disgusting water below was Ezra, and the angle he'd bent down in order to make sure she didn't slip. He was, once again, hunched over, bent at nearly ninety degrees just to keep her stable.

For once, his back was the last thing on his mind.

 _Did I wrap it tight enough? Is she bleeding again-_ There wasn't really a way he could check that, but based on her even breathing and the lack of warm liquid spilling onto his back, Ezra would just have to trust it wasn't. At least until he found the end of these tunnels- and then he'd have to make another check and try to help her the best he could with his limited knowledge of medical procedures. He knew bleeding was bad, and infections were worse... he knew absolutely nothing about internal injuries.

Except that his own were hurting like hell. His cracked ribs were _strongly_ protesting his unorthodox way of carrying Sabine, but considering that it was the _only_ way... he really didn't have much choice. He was by no means strong enough to simply carry her in his arms (much as a little part inside of him _desperately_ wanted), and he wouldn't trust himself to do so even if he could. Her wound needed a flat surface, he felt, and the only way to get that during travel was by keeping her herself flat.

She'd passed out just as Ezra had started wrapping her injury, and honestly he didn't blame her. Getting stabbed _hurt_. And pulling weapons _out_ hurt too. And cauterization... Ezra swore, when he was old and had even forgotten his name, he'd _never_ forget how much _pain_ he'd caused her. But she'd surprised him once again after everything was done.

Her convulsions and screams of pain had shaken him to the core, yes, but that hadn't been what'd taken over his mind. She'd been on the verge of unconsciousness, and his face had been white as snow even as he'd been shedding his jacket to wrap her abdomen in. And then...

 _"Okay, okay- hard part's over, just stay with me- Sabine, stay with me Sabine! I gotta wrap everything up, please stay here...!"_

 _"I'm not- I'm not gonna go anywhere, 'Zra. I'm- Not when I got the answer."_

 _"Yeah yeah, just, keep on holding onto that answer, stay here-"_

 _"It's really important, Ezra- really,_ really _important."_

 _"Okay, almost got it..."_

 _"Ezra, I really like you."_

She hadn't been fully conscious at the time, he knew- even then she'd been slipping, her breathing slowing down. At first _that_ had been what scared him, as she appeared to just... _stop_. But she'd kept breathing, her heart kept pumping...

And then Ezra got what she'd just said.

That had almost thrown him completely off track, just as her saying she trusted him had. Except... not necessarily to a larger degree, but to a different one. Not only because he wasn't entirely sure if she'd _meant_ it or not (he'd been absolutely certain when she'd said she trusted him), but also... because if she did, that meant...

 _'Ezra, I really like you.'_

 _Why did that even come up? Does she really...? No no no, she's concussed- she must have just meant I'm a good friend to her._

 _Did she though?_

Ezra had the utmost respect for Sabine, he really did. Sure, in the beginning he'd been an upright obnoxious little snot, but pretty much only on the basis that she was the only girl his age that didn't curl her nose in disgust at the sight of him on the streets. He'd had no idea how to react to that, and had immediately fallen on the cheap romance holos he'd only ever caught glimpses of.

But Sabine was worth so much more to Ezra than cheap holos. As he'd come to terms with that, the stupid flirts had gone straight out the window. Not because he didn't like her- but because he realized how much he _did_. How she meant so, so much more to him than weak pick-up lines.

He may or may not have taken a little inspiration from Kanan and Hera... who _obviously_ loved each other, no matter _what_ they said.

Whether he did or didn't, though, there was no doubt in his mind that he'd made the right choices. Only blind idiots with no respect for women viewed them as beings existing only to woo and carry off(and if either Sabine or Hera ever met any such person, they'd walk away with a broken nose. Well, probably anyone on the _Ghost_ crew, really). What was the point of having an intimate relationship with someone if you didn't even know them?

No, Ezra knew he wouldn't give up his platonic relationship with Sabine for the worlds. Any of them. She was his best friend, and nothing would or could change that.

It was just... the bare _possibility_ that she _might_ like him like he did...

 _No- no, you can't... assume_ anything _, Bridger. She was barely conscious when she said that- it's not fair to her to just... blindly go with anything that comes out of her mouth. I'm not going to take_ advantage _of her like this- what kind of, of respecting person would? I have to... get all the facts before- before assuming anything..._

His head was slowing down. And his eyes really _were_ blurring. His chest was constricting painfully, hurt radiating every second, not just every breath. Ezra blinked, and was alarmed when it took him a second long than usual to open his eyes again. And despite his pain and their bleak circumstances, Ezra found himself smiling like an idiot, laughing in all but actuality.

 _I'm stuck down here, in the- in the sewers injured, with my injured partner, desperately trying to get out before the stormtroopers figure out which way we went... and I'm completely preoccupied with whether or not she_ likes _me. I really need to se-set my priorities straight._

And his ribs. Though that would come later.

 _Just focus- on moving_. If they didn't move, Ezra had no doubt that they'd be stuck in these sewers forever. If he let himself stop, the pain would overwhelm him and he'd black out- and then there wouldn't be any hope for either of them.

 _Keep moving. Don't drop the lightsaber._

That was his light- that was the only way he could see the incoming twists and turns the tunnels made as they curved under the land, avoiding pockets of ores and weak spots in the crust in order to have the safest route for possible tons of water and waste. Lightsabers were apparently also very useful as flashlights.

 _Keep moving... don't drop the light... DON'T DROP SABINE... Keep moving..._

Why was he so insistent on keeping his lightsaber? There was another small light right over there, he didn't need the blade-

 _Light!_

Relief swept over his aching bones and muscles. That dim light at the end of the sewers signified... well, the end of the sewers. Another hundred feet or so and they'd be out-

Ezra fell down to his knees, panting as the water sloshed angrily around his legs. He might just black out now, actually. His chest was on fire- _focus focus focus! We're almost out- keep... keep moving!_

The soft breathing on his back gave him something to focus on, and Ezra spent a moment just listening to her.

Sabine trusted him. He might not have any idea about her _liking_ him, but when she'd said she'd trusted him, she had been one-hundred percent serious. She trusted him, and he wasn't going to let her down, no matter what. Ezra staggered up, still bent over to allow Sabine a somewhat stable resting place. He didn't care how much it hurt- he wasn't gonna let her down. She trusted him, and he wasn't going to make her regret it.

 _Come on Bridger, move!_

Slowly, painfully, Ezra stood up and kept putting one foot in front of the other. It was agonizing, time-consuming... and he didn't care one bit. Well, maybe a little. But this was Sabine, and nothing was more important than her right now. Not pain, not injuries, distance... nothing.

There was a grate covering the exit, only big enough to allow water to pass through. That wasn't right... this was a _sewers_ tunnel. There had to be controls somewhere that opened the hatch, to allow the waste free access to wherever the dumping point was.

Of course, that control panel was most likely back inside the tower, and would take _time_ to get back to...

 _What am I thinking? I have... a_ lightsaber _._

Picking his arm up, Ezra plunged the ignited blade into the meshed metal, cutting a sloppy circle in the grate and tiredly pushing it down- to reveal a beautiful lake, hundreds of meters wide, lit up by nothing more than the moon and stars- well, it was mostly beautiful, except for the immediate area around the sewer's exit. _That_ wasn't reflecting anything, completely covered with trash as it was.

Water sloshing down gently into the lake in a dirty stream, Ezra braced himself as well he could and hopped through the hole, making sure neither he nor Sabine hit anything on the way out.

The landing, though, was more than he could handle. Dropping straight down into soft mud from less then ten feet wouldn't ever be a problem for him on a regular day- injured, tired, half unconscious and carrying nearly twice his own weight, however, did _not_ count for a normal day.

Ezra dropped straight to his knees, the jar of his landing sending waves of angry pain shooting through his limbs. He gasped, vision going entirely black for a second, and he very nearly face-planted in the mud. That was _not_ a smart move.

 _Holy hells-!_

Ezra keeled over, his forehead diving straight forewords and making an impression in the mud as he lay there, praying for the pain to pass. When it didn't Ezra realized that he'd have to continue on like _this_...

 _I can barely move- how am I gonna...!?_

He'd have to.

But he couldn't...

Civilization was most likely miles away, and Ezra didn't even know what direction to turn to start heading towards _anyone_. Much less anyone who had the proper medical supplies to help Sabine...

 _...Kanan? Hera? Now would be a_ really _great time to show up like miracles..._ But they wouldn't. They had no idea where he and Sabine were- they didn't even know how much _trouble_ they were in, how much they were _needed_ -

 _I have... to get- out... Sabine..._

Ezra groaned, not even going to _try_ standing up all the way. He crawled, pants getting _hopelessly_ stained as he dragged himself and Sabine through the muck. He had to get them both out of there... but _where_?!

 _Anywhere- just... somewhere_ safe _._

 _Just... somewhere..._

Ezra took in a shuddering breath, lungs punishing him for simply _existing_.

 _...safe..._

Ezra pushed his burning arms to the dry land, pulling him and Sabine away from the mud... and that was as far as he could go. That was as far as he could go before he collapsed again, breathing harshly and trembling violently. He wasn't... he wasn't going to be able to... get them out of there...

 _Sabine..._

And then Ezra blacked out, mere feet from the sewers.

* * *

 **See, not _that_ bad!**

 **I love you all for putting up with me. Seriously, thank you.**


	18. Wake Up

**Disclaimer: Asked my brother for an idea, these are his words- 'Don't own anything, get the freak out of my life.' So uncivilized. But correct.**

* * *

Soft. Everything was soft... too soft, too soft- it was too soft, it wasn't right-

Ezra's eyes flew open, immediately on red alert at the obvious shift in his surroundings. And then he calmed down. _Kanan- they must have found us._ And that explained the soft... no, no- nothing was this soft on the _Ghost_ , nothing was this... _plushy_. Red alert again. Because his eyes were showing him that this was most definitely _not_ the G _host_.

For one, there was light- natural, from windows, and _orange_. The lights on the _Ghost_ weren't orange; bright whites saved energy, and tended to illuminate more. Tally one. Tally two, the walls. They were... plaster? _Painted_ plaster, like... a grounded building. They weren't metal, like the ship. Tally three- furniture. Couches. A rounded desk in the corner. _Coffee tables_. And hung paintings that were most definitely _not_ -

 _Sabine?!_

If he wasn't on the _Ghost_ , then logic deduced that neither was she. She'd still been with him when he'd blacked out, though _someone_ must have found them and taken them here... wherever here was. And since it wasn't the _Ghost_ crew, that meant one thing- he was either in enemy territory, or neutral. Whatever the case was, he didn't have tabs on Sabine. But he had a small doubt whoever it was that'd picked them up were hostile- if so, they wouldn't have dumped him on what had to be the _softest_ couch in the galaxy, right?

Ezra shot off of it.

And almost immediately fell back down onto it again, legs wobbling dangerously. He settled for crouching on the floor; just for a little bit. No sitting on that couch. He had no business lounging around in comfort when unknown personnel was possibly watching him and/or Sabine. Scanning the room, Ezra couldn't see any traces of obvious cameras, but that didn't mean they weren't just hidden. If someone wanted to watch him, it would be so, so easy to do so. Though if whoever'd found him had been planning on _imprisoning_ him, they were doing a very poor job.

The doorway out of the room was an arch built into the wall, and it was completely open. Not to mention the windows didn't have any obvious signs of alarm systems, and Ezra could actually see rural farmland outside them. If he squinted there was the outline of what he guessed to be a city on the very edge of the horizon- it helped calm Ezra's nerves slightly that there was at least one easy exit towards civilization.

Another point in his favor was that his chest felt... better. Gingerly he pressed a hand in the area where he'd been injured as his eyes scanned the rest of the room for a threat. When he only received a slight twinge of dulled pain, Ezra hesitantly concluded that he'd been treated.

A soft noise clinked through the open hall, and Ezra flinched, hands reaching for his lightsaber before realizing it wasn't there. Warily, Ezra peered down the hall, trying to scope out any obvious threat. And recognized that there were no guards.

He'd already mostly ruled out the Empire since he'd awoken comfortably instead of on a metal bench, and they wouldn't care to set his wounds. But the lack of white-armored guards further set that factoid in Ezra's head, and he let himself relax _just_ slightly. But only just- after all, the Empire wasn't the worst bunch of people to end up stuck with. He should know.

Hesitating, _very_ much so aware that he had _no_ weapons on him whatsoever and that he had no way of communicating with anyone else, Ezra stealthily padded towards the open hall. There was a door on the other side of the room he'd woken up in, but he would risk the halls first before opening what had the possibility of being a locked or trapped door. He'd be able to deal with it (there were tools hidden in his jumpsuit that _no one_ knew about, and he doubted anyone but the crew would _ever_ know) later if he had to, but for now the open halls seemed like the fastest way to gain information on where he was at.

Silently, sneakily, Ezra inched past through the arch and into the slightly dimmer hall. There was a smaller hall to his left that led to an actual door- most probably to the outside -and to his right was another arch-door leading into... a kitchen. Small. A few counters, a storage unit in the back, heating surface, and a cooling unit. That was it. Well, except for the woman bustling around in it.

Coppery hair, down to her mid-back. Petite frame, though Ezra could see muscles. She was wearing standard Lothal farmer's clothing- old, worn, patched together pieces of fabric not so unlike his own. Though she seemed to forego the standard head gear or hat. The woman turned around, a small pot of steamy _something_ in her hands. Ezra didn't pay it much mind, because she'd seen him instantly.

"Oh! You're awake! Good good; we were hoping you'd come 'round soon." Ezra blinked, sweeping her up and down with his eyes to see if she was wearing any weapons. She wasn't, though her green eyes were about as sharp as a vibroknife. They were smiling though, and Ezra got the sense that she did that a lot. That didn't get him off edge, however. He hadn't survived this long without wariness, and he himself was a prime example of how looks could be deceiving.

"Who are you?"

Neutral tone; not hostile, not friendly. Don't drive away any potential allies, don't allow an enemy to fool him. That was how Ezra worked unless he got a certain _vibe_ off of someone- but this woman wasn't radiating danger to any of his senses. That didn't mean she was friendly.

"Oh- sorry, dear. My name's Eilene-" the name struck a chord in his head, and he swore he'd heard it before,"-though I don't know yours." She paused for a second, as if inviting him to give his name. When he didn't she continued. "I found you and that colorful girl-" _Sabine-!_ "at the edge of the lake; the both of you were hurt bad, and t-"

"Where's S- my friend?"

The woman blinked at him, before smiling slightly. "You don't have to worry about her. She should be okay- though that was a _nasty_ wound she had there. You too- honestly, I'm amazed you got as far as you did."

Alarm bells rang even as relief for Sabine made his knees weak. 'As far as you did?' As in, implying she knew where they'd come from? How much did this woman know?

"You know..." Neutral. Don't scare off allies, don't alert enemies you'd caught onto a scheme. "You don't seem very surprised we were hurt as bad as we were." She blinked once again, and then smiled at him- no, _behind_ him-!

"That's because I told her _all_ about you two."

" _You-!_ "

* * *

Had it ever been this hard for Sabine to wake up? ... No... she didn't think so. Eyes were supposed to open like _that_. Instantaneously. In an instant. Presto.

 _Where...?_ She honestly had no idea where she was. It was soft... it was... comfy? Yes, it was comfy... in fact, it would really, _really_ be nice to go back to sleep right now and just... lie there...

 _Ezra!?_

Where was he. Was he okay? Where was he?! The last thing Sabine remembered-

 _BOMBS._

Instantly she was up, shooting from her horizontal position into a ninety-degree sitting stance... and very nearly puking on the spot. Her head swam, eyes blurring as soon as they were open. Where were the stormtroopers? Where were her _guns_ \- the bombs, they had to get out before the bombs blew! If they were still in the bay when the explosives went off they'd be blown to smithereens!

"Ez-" Sabine broke into coughs, and she felt a scar on her cheek where she assumed it'd been bitten. Pain radiated from her stomach, and Sabine cried out as the unexpected assault threw her off balance. Well, just simply sitting up threw her off balance, it didn't really- when was she lying down!?

What was hurting her!? Sabine looked at her abdomen... and when her vision un-blurred (with some generous squinting), the first thing she was aware of was that her armor was off. All of it; replaced with... a hospital outfit. And a large cloth bandage wrapped around her middle. Once again instantly woken up, Sabine snapped her head around, taking stock of her surroundings and finding, surprise surprise, a hospital room, complete with monitors and a tray full of tools and hypo-syringes. There was no window.

 _Hospital-?_

"Ezra?!" _Where are you- where am I!?_ Guns- where were her guns? Where was her helmet? She needed to call in for back up, to get an idea of where they _were_ and how far away Hera and the _Ghost_ was.

She couldn't find either of her possessions in the room, small as it was. Small pretty much described everything in there, though that did nothing to bring her any comfort. Nothing could, at this point. She had no idea where she was, where her armor was, where the rest of her team was. _Nothing_ was right.

Sabine tried to move her legs- tried to get out of the bed and burst through the door, demanding information from whoever happened to be standing outside. That was the plan. Instead, she just ended up gasping in pain once more and falling to the floor, pure _hurt_ radiating through her middle. That wasn't supposed to happen.

Sabine pressed the bandage on her abdomen, trying to gauge the amount of damage based on the pain. What-

Memories.

Being thrown away. Landing painfully. Metal flying at her. Pain. Ezra. Blue. _Shrapnel- there was shrapnel, and I..._

 _"Ok- Sabine, I-I'm gonna have to- have to take out this shrapnel, I-"_

 _"I trust you."_

Yeah, she was pretty sure that'd happened... although she had a _strong_ feeling she'd been heavily concussed, because she had absolutely no memory of where she was, how she got there, where Ezra was... and her head was pounding and fuzzy.

 _Wait- there was something else, something big happened..._

 _Something big?_

 _Doesn't matter- not now, NOT now- later. Getting out is first._

Well. Finding her gear actually. She'd already checked around the tiny recovery room, but in all likeliness her stuff was probably elsewhere in the complex. She'd have to go find it, and gather information on the way- and hopefully find Ezra. Or his location. Or _hers-_ gather gear, gather information.

After managing her abdomen.

If she went out there only to discover this was an Imperial controlled facility, she'd be next to useless with an injury and no weapon. Well. She was pretty sure that the hypo-syringes on the medical tray beside the bed would do some damage, if she could get close enough. And stormtroopers had an exposed section in their neck, where the grey under suit was visible... yes. If she ran across bucket-heads, she'd be able to take down one at least. No- better to take all three syringes. She didn't know what was in them, but they probably weren't too beneficial to those who were prescribed.

Sabine stood slowly, gingerly; slowly, slowly. Don't upset the wound. She grabbed the hypo-syringes and moved towards the door, careful to keep her middle section as still as possible so keep pain to a minimum.

The walls weren't white- she'd expected a hospital to be drowning in white paints, but outside the room was actually a pale blue color. Taken a little aback, Sabine nevertheless kept on edge. Her room was right at the corner of the hall, with maybe a dozen other rooms stretching out to her left and the start of another hall to her right. Taking a chance and choosing quickly, Sabine ducked around the corner, silent and hoping to run into someone who could give her information-

And she ran into just that.

A nurse, exiting a room further down, her back turned to Sabine and eyes focused on the holopad in her arms. She was Rakata ***** , Sabine believed, the tall head and eye-stalks on the side of her face making her profile distinct, even from the back. Which actually relieved Sabine somewhat- the Empire had a strict human-only policy. The employment of an alien was a clear indication that they weren't in direct control of this hospital- so Sabine was _relatively_ safe from _them_ at least.

Sabine quickly shuffled behind her, not making a sound in her bare feet. It was all too easy to sneak one of the syringes up to the unsuspecting nurse's neck, not squeezing the plunger but holding it as a threat. The Rakata squeaked, dropping her pad in fright and jumping very nearly out of her skin.

"Don't move," Sabine growled, voice low. "-and don't scream. I don't know what's in here, but it probably isn't beneficial to you." Sabine _felt_ the woman swallow, and then she was nodding, apparently fine.

"What do you want?"

"Information. Where am I?" Location first; she could work everything else off of that.

"Jhothal's Medical Facility-" _Jhothal- that's where old Jho's Pit Stop is!_ And, now that she thought about it, the closest city there was to the facility they'd been hitting.

"There was another guy with me- boy, blue hair, my age. Where. Is. He."

Sabine felt the Rakata shiver, but she didn't much care. Not now anyways. She had no idea who this lady was- just that she was somehow, though most likely distantly, related to how she'd gotten there.

"I- I don't know, off the top of my head- I can contact the managers and ask-"

"No." Managers meant registration, and registration meant records. Imperials had access to records.

Though, of course, she'd had have to been registered to even _be_ here in the first place.

"Well, I can contact whoever brought you in-" _That's right, who_ did _bring me in?_ Ezra? No, Sabine doubted he'd be able to take the both of them so many clicks away from the production facility with his ribs. Though she didn't doubt he wasn't stubborn enough to.

"Who brought me here?" _Whoever they are, they should have found me with Ezra. And either they have him and are keeping him safe somewhere too, or..._ or Sabine would have to start some fights as soon as she got out of the hospital.

"Well. If you'll let me turn around and input your number, I'll be able to tell you." _Number_ _\- oh, she probably means that._ The small number '53-A' sown into her top- probably to help keep track of patients and their designated wards.

Sabine hesitated, but the Rakata wasn't holding any weapons Sabine could see, and she had a reasonable enough demand. Besides, Sabine had three separate hypo-syringes of who-knew-what, and even injured, she was willing to bet she had better reflexes and combat training than the nurse. She backed off quickly, taking the syringe off the woman's neck and eyeing her warily as she picked up her holopad and turned around.

"Let's see, 53-A-" Sabine was impressed- the Rakata seemed completely unperturbed at what had just happened. She could admire that, even if this woman was yet to be classified 'ally' or 'other.'

"Ah- Ms. Kaelin Oriena." _Huh?_ "You don't remember coming here? Though I don't doubt it- you had quite a nasty stab there, as well as a severe concussion. Your father was rather distressed." _Father!?_

No- most logical explanation. Stick with the most logical. Someone had brought her in here under the guise of her father, putting her under a different name- which was, all things considered, a brilliant way to keep _her_ name out from under the Empire's radar. Her father was... not here. So who'd brought her in?

"My- my dad?"

The Rakata nodded, seemingly oblivious to Sabine's temporary shock.

"Yes- one Tama Oriena."

* * *

 **Because I've grown rather attached to Tama and his family and I'm not done with them yet. :3**


	19. A Warm Bowl of Stew

**This chapter kinda got off track a little- it was supposed to start wrapping up after Tama explained the situation, but then... well. Let me just say I really like Tama and how I've made him and his family.**

 **And worry not- I've not forgotten about the _Ghost_ crew, nor have I forgotten Kanan's bond with Ezra. All will be explained with time, I promise. :)**

 **Disclaimer: While I cannot proudly say I own Rebels, I _can_ proudly say- and I do say this with pride -that I only own one Tama Oriena, who has wormed his way into my heart and I don't think will be leaving in the near future.**

* * *

Ezra didn't much like that he was once again on that too-soft couch. But, under the circumstances, things could be a lot worse- he could be on an Imperial interrogation bench, or he could still be in that mud with Sabine and have absolutely no idea where to turn for help. At least here he was inside with a warm bowl of stew that Eilene- Tama's wife, which was why her name was familiar to him -had made for all of them.

Since the ex-miner had made his presence known, Ezra hadn't really known what to make of the situation. Tama was no lover of the Empire- but at the same time, Ezra and the crew had blown up his work space.

He'd hesitantly come to the conclusion, once again, that Tama and his family weren't hostile towards him. They weren't neutral either, but they weren't exactly _friendly_ to their cause- he knew Tama in no way favored the Empire, but Ezra still wore that mask of wariness even as his 'rescuer' sat him back down on that couch.

And, as his instincts forced him to, Ezra waited until Tama took a spoonful of his stew before starting on his own. He'd been there to see Eilene dish out the portions so he knew there was nothing in his bowl that was any different from theirs, so once they had started eating he had gratefully done the same.

Eilene was a rather good cook. It was this fact that Ezra probably owed his life to- that and Sabine's bright, vivid colors.

"I usually take walks out along that lake-," Eilene was explaining, "around the bits that Imperial facility hasn't contaminated is the perfect soil for growing the more delicate crops and spices that our farmland isn't suited for. It's a while away, but I love walking in the morning, right when the sun's just coming over the hills." Ezra hummed, remembering waking early and climbing to the top of his tower to see the very same sun peak over the buildings in the city. He still did that with the _Ghost_ , sometimes.

"And that was when I saw this splash of color way out on the other edge of the lake. At first I didn't think much of it, because it's a dump site and all. But," Eilene eyed him seriously, sharp eyes gentle over her wooden bowl, "as I got to thinking, the stormtroopers don't have much color on _anything_. Normally I can't stand the smell over there, but I got curious. 'Course, when I found you two half dead on the shore, I got a little more than curious."

Ezra bit his lip, eyes tightening slightly as he directed his gaze down to the bowl instead of at Eilene's face. He and Sabine were most likely still alive only because of one woman's curiosity... and that scared him. Without her, he would have failed both himself and Sabine...

"Words cannot described how scared I got for you two when I saw how badly your friend was injured." Ezra's grip tightened on the bowl, and he breathed heavily through his nose, trying to calm his heart. Sabine was okay- Tama had assured him she was safe and okay, things were fine...

"Believe me, I was pretty scared myself." Ezra cleared his throat, clearing his face of the panic and reminiscence as he took another bite of his stew. Eilene hummed and nodded from the loveseat, and Tama, sitting across from him on a stool pulled from another room, looked at Ezra objectively. Not scrutinizing, but as though he were trying to figure out something. Ezra shifted slightly, but was forced to meet the older man's gaze as he took over the story.

"I'd told Eilene about you and the colored girl, as well as that guy in green," Ezra's upper lip twitched, "so as soon as she saw your friend armor and your hair, she figured you were the ones I'd told her about and took you back to the house."

So the muscles Eilene sported weren't just for show, then. He could respect that- after all, if he said he didn't know any strong women, he'd more than most likely have two black eyes.

"My friend-" he was well aware that he hadn't given either Tama or his wife their names, and he intended to keep it that way; there were too many variables, too many unknowns, "-you said she was safe. Where... where is she?" Hoping to come across as casual, Ezra forced himself to take another bite of the stew even as he stilled his shaking fingers.

"We admitted her into the hospital."

Ezra very nearly choked on the spoonful.

 _Wha- no no no no, that means the Empire knows where she is!_

Depending on how long Ezra'd been out, the stormtroopers could have already found out her location and taken her from whatever ward she was in, leaving her stranded and injured-!

"Calm down, calm down."

"No no you don't understand; Sabine-"

"Was admitted under a false name, in the guise of our daughter."

Adrenaline still pumping through his veins and his stomach somewhere near his ankles, Ezra nevertheless forced himself to calm down enough to register what Tama was saying. "So she's-"

"Safe under the name Kaelin Oriena. We," Tama and Eilene traded smiles, faces pinking slightly even as Ezra deflated in relief, "were thinking that'd be what we'd name our daughter, if... well. But Sabine is a great name too." Ezra blinked, knowing he'd let crucial information slip and berating himself for it.

But both Tama and Eilene were only smiling benignly, and he wasn't getting any danger readings off of these people. He knew he should still be heavily wary and suspicious... but these two had helped him and Sabine. They'd treated him while he'd been out (three days, they'd told him) and had safely admitted Sabine to the one place she could get what she needed to stay alive. He figured he could at least relax around these people _somewhat_.

Sinking back down into the soft couch, Ezra willed his heart to slow down and his stomach to rise from his ankles and settle back in it's proper place. They were okay...

"See, we figured since you two... aren't exactly friends with the Empire," Tama continued, and guilt clenched Ezra's heart as the image of the burning mine resurfaced, "I knew it wouldn't be beneficial to either of you to leave your identities out in the open. We could've just admitted your friend to the hospital saying we had no idea who she was-"

 _That's right,_ Ezra though, somewhat sheepishly, _they wouldn't even have known her actual name to admit her under,_ "but the Empire would've been all over an unknown patient matching a known rebel's general description and circumstances."

 _It's okay, we're okay, she's okay..._

"That's also why we kept you here." Eilene took over, and Ezra switched his gaze to the muscled woman, still acutely aware of Tama watching him over his own bowl of stew. "Admitting the both of you at the same time would have most definitely caught the Empire's attention, no matter what names you went under. We figured she at least would be okay from facial recognition-" Ezra's cheeks reddened slightly as he also remembered Sabine wore her _helmet_ when fighting. That didn't give her an all-clear pass though, her time in the Imperial Academy would account for that. "-but you, we weren't too sure of. We figured just treating you with what we had here was the best option- no questions, no databases, no Imperial threat. Besides, fractured ribs are _easily_ dealt with, with the right supplies."

Ezra bit his lip. He needed to say something. He had to get a cap on what he was feeling, on what... on everything. And there really was only one way, but it seemed so _shallow_ compared to the meaning behind the words. The quiet, almost subdued "Thank you."

These people didn't have to help him and Sabine. They didn't have to admit Sabine to the hospital. They didn't have to take care of his wounds. They didn't have to _save_ them. They didn't owe him anything- in fact, he owned _them_ for destroying Tama's workplace. Most likely, he and Sabine were only alive because of the goodness of their hearts.

The fact that their lives had been determined by semi-strangers who should by all means hold a grudge against them scared him.

But he was grateful nonetheless.

Eilene nodded, smiling softly, though Tama just inclined his head, still sporting that look which told Ezra the man was trying to figure him out. He fidgeted slightly, the warm and now empty-bowl in his hands feeling like a manacle.

"We couldn't exactly leave you alone out there, now could we?" Ezra closed his eyes. He felt so very small in this too-soft couch, like it would swallow him and his helplessness up. He recalled a dim memory of having a nightmare like that, once, but it faded into nothing more than just a simple grey color in the back of the back of his head.

Tama and Eilene must have shared a look in that time, because next thing he knew the bowl was being taken from his hands by soft hands and his eyes were flying open at the sudden touch. "If you need anything," Eilene peered down at him with soft eyes, "come ask me. But I have a feeling you'll want to sort out some details with my husband." She smiled lightly, and then retreated down the hall with a swaying of fabric.

Ezra looked back at Tama, who was still scrutinizing him. Defensively, he crossed his arms over his chest, but otherwise made no comment.

"How old are you?" The sudden and rather odd question threw Ezra off-track slightly, and he found himself blinking before answering. There was no harm in giving such information- besides, it was already on his wanted profile on the Holo-net or the frequent broadcasts. Lying or ignoring the question would be pointless- and not to mention rude. While Ezra wasn't against rudeness here and there, Tama and Eilene had saved his life. Not just his, but _Sabine's_. He figured that ought to count for something.

"I'm fifteen."

The ex-miner pursed his lips, like he'd bitten into something mildly unpleasant. Ezra blinked curiously at him, until Tama snorted with a sense of dark humor.

"I'm morel like my old man than I thought- I'm gonna say the same thing he did at our mine: you're being recruited young, aren't you." It wasn't a question, more like a resigned statement. Ezra chewed his cheeks briefly, before he looked Tama in the eyes unashamedly.

"The crew didn't exactly rope me into this life- I had no where else to go. The Empire made sure of that." Tama nodded, and there were hints of a hidden scene playing out behind his eyes.

"Believe me, I'm not calling out your crew. That man I saw you with didn't seem like the kind of guy to turn children to fighters just because." Ezra's upper lip twitched again as Kanan was brought up.

"Trust me, he's not. He still feels guilty."

"I can see why." There was such a serious look in Tama's eyes- a serious, almost saddened look that took over his eyes which before-hand had only been shadowed with friendly interest. "You ask a teenager on the street how old they are, they'll give you a weird look but won't think it's anywhere out of the ordinary, and answer in a heartbeat. I ask you, it startles you to the point where you actually have to think about your answer. That's not even mentioning the obvious- you're a soldier. Children aren't supposed to fight."

"And the government isn't supposed to exploit their families to the point where they have to." Ezra countered, though he knew there wasn't a need to prove himself. This wasn't that type of argument- no matter who 'won,' the facts would still be the same- he would still be young, and he would still be fighting. Nothing would change that until the Empire was taken down.

Tama nodded, simultaneously sighing as his eyes seemed to grow decades older. "I guess it's just the times we live in that make everything seem so..."

"Messed up? Wrong? Screwed over? Take your pick, I've got more."

A grim smile. "I'll bet you do." Pause. "I'll take it that I wasn't wrong in assuming you and your crew were the ones who attacked the factory?"

Ezra nodded, grateful that Tama had changed the subject to one that wouldn't automatically put him in the wrong. "Yeah- was that on the news?" The ex-miner snorted, rubbing one of his temples in a way that was not unlike Kanan rubbing his forehead.

"Well, it _was_ , until some Mordo guy-

"Commander Morden."

"-hushed them all up. Eilene and I only got the part of one of the production bays exploding and how there were soldiers removing more explosives from the rest of the compound before they _abruptly_ switched topics."

Ezra frowned. "Did they say anything about the number of explosives found?"

Tama raised an eyebrow at him, but didn't question further. "Only that they were removing explosives from the tower and the production bays."

 _But not the changing area,_ Ezra noted. That was interesting... but before Ezra could pursue his new-found topic of interest further, Eilene came back into the room, face lit up and fresh in- not exactly happiness, but contentment, he thought.

"The hospital checked in-" Ezra was perked up and aware instantly, eyes zeroing in on Eilene, "-and apparently- um, Sabine?" Ezra nodded tersely. "Apparently Sabine's woken up and caused a bit of a stir." _You can't really expect her to do anything else- what did you think would happen, she'd wake up and just meekly accept where she was without explanation?_

Although that wasn't really fair- he knew Sabine just a _bit_ better then most.

Ezra turned to Tama, who was smiling with his eyes again. "I have to see her." The miner nodded, gaze flicking to Eilene before she spoke up again.

"Well, they said she was asking for Tama, so..."

Ezra's lip curled upwards. He wouldn't be surprised if she'd wrestled the information she needed from whoever happened to be nearby... though once again, that was only to be expected. He couldn't help but feel like their sync was amazing- they'd both gotten info on who'd saved them, even if her methods most likely had been a bit unorthodox. Again- that was Sabine.

"Well then- I guess we'll be taking a trip to the med center." Ezra smiled unconsciously- no matter what happened next, he'd be back with Sabine, and the two of them together could handle it.

And put the questions stirring in his gut to rest about... certain dazed revelations. Or just fuddled thoughts. Whatever they were- he hoped for answers.

"Just one thing before we go-" Ezra turned to Tama, waiting for the older man to voice his condition so they could _leave_ and get over to his teammate. The serious glint was back in Tama's eyes, but it was toned down a bit from before. "Will you tell us your name?"

For a brief moment, Ezra considered refusing. And then considered saying 'Dev Morgen.' But, like before with his age, lying was ultimately pointless. Tama could go and look up his name whenever he wanted- the fact that he was asking for it meant he trusted Ezra to answer however he felt he needed to. Not for the first time, Ezra wondered how well he'd do fighting against the Empire with such a tactful mind- if he wanted to gain Ezra's trust, that was exactly how to go about it. Because it was only with a moment of hesitation and a second of biting his lip that he responded-

"Ezra."


	20. Planning Again

**Alright guys- this time my lateness has an actual excuse.**

 **My family's packing our things and yardsaling like our lives depend on it because we're going to be moving this Saturday to a completely new household. Things are and are going to remain frantic for a few weeks at least; until we get settled in updates are going to be a little hectic as well. I am writing what I can in school in this little notebook I carry 'round, so I'm still working and developing ideas throughout the days, but the time I have available for putting those ideas down into full-fledged writing is gradually shrinking.**

 **Everything will get back to normal in two weeks or so, though- who knows, I might even be able to get back to the two-day schedule! ...okay probably not, but just know that I am trying. :)**

 **And thank you to all you readers, for sticking through your frustration- have an extra-large chappie to make up for this delay and most likely for the future ones as well. Be warned though, there is a dialogue scene that can be _very_ confusing if you don't keep your wits- but it's cute and so like them so it's staying in here. Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: Well, I've rambled on enough above, I don't think you guys need an extra-long disclaimer as well. After all, the scrolling text opening for Star Wars don't go on and on about the difficulties of the writer's personal lives, do they now?**

* * *

"You've got some visitors, Kaerin." Sabine looked over at the Rakata nurse she'd threatened earlier- Ja'lan, she'd come to learn was her name -and blinked.

"Is it Tama? Uh, my dad?"

Saying that someone else was her father irked her a bit. Still, she couldn't just continue to call the ex-miner by his name- what child did? It still felt weird though, and she had to mentally remind herself that it was necessary.

Ja'lan looked at her holopad and nodded, small smile still in place. It was probably mandatory that they wear those smiles, because no one in the galaxy would naturally keep their mouth locked in the same position for so long. Especially around the sick and injured. "Yes it is- as well as your mother and brother. Isn't it nice that the whole family came to visit?"

 _Just how old does she think I am_ _?_

Though Sabine did respect Ja'lan for keeping her cool while Sabine had assaulted her (not many lifeforms could), she was finding that the alien woman was increasingly getting on her nerves. Probably because she was more mature than most girls her age were, and the nurse wasn't seeing it.

"I guess. Will I be able to leave soon?"

Sabine stilled her body and her facial features into an inquiring and polite mask, hiding the anxiousness that had slowly been building. Even though she was under a different name and the Empire didn't have an exact match of her face (she hoped), with her peculiar set of circumstances and the _very_ odd nature of her wound, it wouldn't be long before the bucket-heads put two and two together and figured out it was her.

Normally, she wouldn't be so pessimistic, but with commander Morden more than likely out for their blood and possessing the intelligence that he did, he would have warned the Imperials in Jhothal to stay on the lookout for anyone of either her or Ezra's characteristics. And with his reputation, Sabine knew that those under him would do everything they could to carry out his wishes- her time here was limited.

After catching up and planning with Ezra about their next move, Sabine wanted out of the hospital as soon as possible- she could handle a bit of pain, especially now that she'd let the doctors and nurses actually tend to her abdomen.

Well. She didn't really have much control over their actions when she'd been unconscious, but that wasn't the point.

Ja'lan blinked at her, and Sabine was momentarily stunned as the nurse dropped her smile, opting for a blank look instead. "Ms. Oriena, your abdominal cavity and small intestine were pierced. Even with successful surgery, your muscles and organs still need time to heal- at the very least, you _must_ stay here for another two weeks!"

Sabine frowned, biting her lip subtly as Ja'lan re-affixed her smile to her face, though now it was slightly incredulous. She shook her head, tutting slightly, and Sabine resisted the urge to stand up and walk out just to prove she could.

She had to, really. Within two weeks the Empire would most definitely match her records to 'Kaerin Oriena,' and then there would be trouble.

"But anyways," the fact that the Rakata was still smiling like Sabine's question was absurd made her gut curdle slightly- or was that just her injury? "they'll be here in a few minutes. After what you've gone through, I'm pretty sure a few familiar faces will be _wonderful_ , don't you?"

Sabine's heart twinged.

"Yeah."

Ja'lan checked the various monitors Sabine was hooked up to, nodding when she apparently saw the right statistics. Sabine's thoughts was far away, though, trying to pull together the string of events that had been nagging the back of her head for a while now.

Something had happened in that bay.

She couldn't remember most anything that'd happened after the bombs went off, though Ja'lan had assured her that a 'little' memory loss was to be expected with the concussion that she'd had.

And Sabine had actually been kind of glad she'd had one, because she wasn't so sure she could pull a convincing cover story for her wound for the nurses right on the spot. There was _no_ way Sabine was ever telling them her true identity, even if they weren't affiliated with the Empire. Playing up her 'memory loss' as to why she couldn't describe how she got her wound was the best way to go, and hopefully Tama had invented something that wouldn't raise suspicion.

Even though she was glad for the excuse it gave her, however, Sabine was _frustrated_ beyond belief because of it. She'd _said_ something- said something important... but that was the only thing she knew. It was the only impression that'd lasted on her befuddled mind before she'd passed out, leaving her with some disjointed images of Ezra's face, blue, the smell of filth and blood, and confusion that was lasting to this very second.

 _What_ had she _said_?

The 'doorbell' of sorts for the small ward chimed, alerting both Sabine and Ja'lan that there was someone outside the door. A moment after the nurse called out 'come in!' softly, a Rodian peeked his head in (Sabine noted he also was smiling and her theory it was mandatory grew stronger) and locked eyes with his coworker.

"Mr. and Mrs. Oriena are here, as well as their son."

Sabine stretched her neck, looking out beyond the Rodian's shoulder into the light blue hall beyond- she couldn't see anything past the door though, because as soon as the Rodian nurse stepped back the doorframe was occupied with a large, muscled man she knew to be Tama. Short, cropped brown hair and brown eyes nodded politely to the nurse before fixing on her inquisitively.

Sabine shifted slightly, uncomfortable with the unwanted direct attention.

She smiled tightly, though. "Hi... dad."

Tama blinked, then smiled slightly, apparently glad she'd caught on to his admittedly smart ruse. He nodded to her, fully smiling now for the benefit of the two nurses present before stepping aside to allow in a blond woman and _Ezra._

Sabine let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding as she saw he was _alright_. His eyes were wide and worried, but unlike with the ex-miner, she found that she didn't much mind that he was only looking at her. In that singular moment, Sabine felt everything was okay, now. They were alright, they were safe, they had each other and everything was going to be fine.

That electric gaze shifted after a beat to glance at the nurses, and the illusion broke. They were not safe; far from it, Morden was most definitely still looking for them. Sabine was still injured, she didn't know about Ezra, she didn't know how long she'd been out or how much more time they had, and if they wanted everything else to be fine they had to fight for it.

Sabine was injured. She was injured and lying on a hospital bed, mostly dependent on the machines and the bacta to keep her stomach from rebelling from existence. She looked helpless. Sabine knew Ezra would never view her like that- no one who knew her would dare, she hoped for their well-being, -but she still looked helpless.

"Hey." She called, and her voice nearly cracked. Sabine scowled internally.

"...Hey." His voice _did_ crack. Sabine frowned a bit.

"Just call one of the nurses in if you need anything," Ja'lan said, and she walked over to the door next to the Rodian. "I'll be back in a few minutes to administer another round of bacta, just to warn you." And then the two were gone, the door sliding to a close behind them.

There was a beat of silence, in which Sabine was acutely aware that Ezra couldn't bring himself to stop looking at her heart monitor, before the blond woman clicked her tongue and shook her head. "If you were actually my child, I don't think I'd let you out of bed before two months had passed. Honestly, I don't think I've ever seen something this bad in all my time.

Sabine half-smiled rather tightly, trying to distract herself from how Ezra had paled just slightly. He was rubbing his arms like he did when he was uncomfortable. Sabine was a bit irritated with the lack of tact the woman had, but what concerned her was mostly that Tama had narrowed his eyes very slightly, like he was studying her.

"Um." Sabine let her eyes switch back over to Ezra as he spoke up, keenly noticing just how... pained he looked. Not physically, either, which somehow made it worse. "How... how are you?" Sabine blinked and Ezra fidgeted with his arms. Tama smiled gently, the action going mostly unnoticed by the room.

Sabine shifted slightly, gut twinging. "I'm healing. Whatever the doctors did, they did it well; they say I should be able to leave in a few weeks." From the near indiscernible twitch of Ezra's mouth's right corner, he read inbetween the lines that Sabine had her _own_ departure time in mind. "What about you?"

His gaze flicked to Tama and then the woman as he moved forwards and settled in the singular chair to the right of the bed while walking. "Better. Tama and Eilene-" that must be the woman "-found us and... helped us." Both adults nodded, the ex-miner gesturing to Sabine.

"We put you in here under our name, as I saw you figured out- but we knew Ezra's-" Sabine's eyebrows raised slightly, "-face is a bit more recognizable than yours, what with your helmet and all. Since he wasn't _too_ badly hurt, though he pushed himself more than would ever be considered healthy," Ezra looked away, face reddening, "we just kept and treated him at our place."

 _They know his name_ , Sabine noted with interest. It wouldn't be too hard to look it up, of course, but judging from the fact that Ezra seemed marginally relaxed around these people, and that he'd had little to no reaction the ex-miner saying his name, he'd probably told them. He trusted them, then. To some degree at least.

Sabine looked Tama and Eilene up and down, examining their builds, the lack of the blaster that had previously accompanied Tama when they'd met before, and determining that they _looked_ like trustworthy people. She knew looks could be deceiving- but so did Ezra, and he obviously had some other proof to go on that made it obvious they wouldn't sell either of them out to the Empire. Knowing this, Sabine allowed some of the tension to drain from her body, and her previously rigid abdomen thanked her for it. She turned an eye over to Ezra, raising it slightly.

"Just what did you do that wouldn't ever be considered healthy?"

Sabine was glad to see that he bristled slightly, because she _really_ wasn't liking the fact that so far he seemed rather withdrawn. "It wasn't _that_ bad-" Eilene raised her eyebrows and Tama snorted, making Ezra cut himself off and slide a little further into the chair. "Well, maybe. But how else was I gonna get you out of there?"

Sabine frowned slightly, trying to picture events in her head. She'd gone unconscious after the bombs, she was pretty sure- so what had happened afterwards?

Well, Ezra would have had to carry her out of there. Much as she knew the teen would love to be able to, he was by no means strong enough to simply pick her up and jaunt away, especially with the stormtroopers. Dragging her then? But that would have made her shoulder sockets sore, and even if the doctors had managed to help them before Sabine woke, there was still the matter of Ezra being stubborn and being _hurt_ by carrying her. But why in the galaxy wouldn't he simply drag her? All they had to do was go through the sewer tun- infection. He'd been worried about her wound being infected, so he wouldn't have dragged her...

Sabine clicked her tongue as she figured it out. "Ezra!"

"Well, it was the only way I could've gotten us both out of there!" Not angry. Defensive. And he was rubbing his arms again. Sabine sighed. She hadn't been angry either, but still. The stubbornness of her friend apparently knew no end. The only way he would've been able to get them both out would be if he'd carried her on his back- cracked ribs and all.

"You really are taking after Spectre one." Ezra's eyebrows furrowed, and Tama shifted slightly. He slipped an arm around his wife's waist, and motioned they go outside- a gesture Sabine appreciated once she was left with Ezra and able to talk openly. She might be trusting the miner with Ezra's name so far, but without further information that was all she was willing to reveal.

"What'd'you mean I'm taking after Kanan?" Sabine gave Ezra a sarcastic look, pushing the observation that he looked like he had another question in his head out of her thoughts.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I don't think it's too hard to imagine Kanan injuring himself while trying to recklessly take care of Hera." Ezra huffed, and Sabine was relieved at the small smile tugging on his lips.

"Just because we take care of the crew doesn't mean it's _reckless_."

Sabine laughed, pleasantly pleased when she was able to do so with just a twinge in her stomach. "Well, we do _all_ take care of each other. Reckless or no."

 _Ha- that's one of those signs again. Not surprising, really. After all-_

She stopped laughing, eyes sobering and actually widening a bit.

 _Oh..._ oh. _Well that's... oh._

So she'd finally figured out just how complex her relationship with Ezra was, then. Apparently all it took was a _massive_ concussion and a near-fatal wound. A bubble of amusement floated to her lips, and she grinned toothily.

 _Though I could do without the injuries next time I have hard question._

"What?" Ezra asked, concern chipping at the laughter in his eyes. Sabine looked at him, looked at him and was silent for a beat.

 _I like you. That's what, you Loth-rat, I like you._

Sabine frowned. That was... relatively simple. But there was something hovering on the edge of her recollections- a haze that she couldn't seem to remember exactly whatit _was_. A memory? Or just her concussed brain putting her internal revelation into a situation that had never happened? She wasn't a psychologist- she didn't know what the brain was capable of doing when severely addled, or how confusing it could get for their owners to try and interpret what mess it'd left behind after coming back to it's senses. Whatever the 'scientific' answer was, however, Sabine was finding that it was confusing _her_ rather well; at the moment she was desperately trying to remember if she'd told Ezra her answer, or if that was just her head trying to make sense of everything.

"What?" Ezra repeated, eyebrow raised as he noticed her stiffen. Sabine looked at him, curious and questioning.

 _Do you know I like you?_

Sabine frowned a bit, opening her mouth, closing it, and opening it again before shaking her head. This wasn't the time to be asking things like that. Instead, "Do you have any idea where the others are?"

Ezra blinked, frowning like he knew that wasn't what she was originally going to say, but shook his head. "No. Morden busted my comm so I couldn't contact them after I woke up, and there wasn't a whole lot of time for me to meditate to try and find Kanan that way." His eyes went down to the floor, and Sabine guessed he was biting his lip on the inside of his mouth for that second before he spoke again. "I think that's why Kanan hasn't found me either- I've pretty much been unconscious up until now, and Force signatures are a lot harder to pin down when that happens."

Sabine frowned a bit, nodding.

"Three days," Ezra softly answered her unspoken question, and Sabine drew in a deep breath. Three days since the explosion. Not nearly enough time for Morden to give up on them, and just enough time to give the bucket-heads a head start on finding them. The Imperial presence in Jhothal was most likely training their scanners for any ships that passed in their range, keeping a sharp eye out for the _Ghost_ if her crew tried to pull Ezra or Sabine out. That might be another reason why so far the crew hadn't come flying in to save them- it wasn't _too_ much of a leap for the Spectres to make that she and Ezra would end up in Jhothal, since it was the closest settlement to the tower.

 _They wouldn't even know we- I'm injured as badly as I am. Ezra they know about, I told them in the elevator, but to them it must look like we just disappeared off the radar..._

"Where's my gear?" Helmet. Guns. Her communicator, to see if they could make a plan to get everyone out.

Ezra scratched the back of his head. "Tama told me he's got all of our 'incriminating possessions' safely away. I asked about your helmet though, and," Ezra winced, "apparently the explosion and the trauma of... flying..." _and coming to an absolute stop after I slammed into that wreckage_ , Sabine grimly filled in, "combined was enough to damage your built-in comm. It should be fixable, but without your equipment on he _Ghost_ -"

"It'd probably take a while to get to the point where it can contact anyone again." Ezra nodded, and Sabine frowned. More time where the Empire would be able to get a fix on their location. Not good, because it gave the stormtroopers more time and still left the _G_ _host_ in the dark about their whereabouts.

Sabine frowned, and Ezra breathed out slowly. Sabine kept her eyes discretely focused on his own electric blue ones as they darted over towards the door, noticing that his face seemed tight as he remembered something. "Eilene was insisting that we stay at their house until we can arrange a rendezvous with the crew."

"Where do they live?"

"Out on a farm on the outskirts. Eilene was a farmer before she met Tama; it wasn't too hard for them to settle into that new life." Judging from how Ezra was pinching his lips in and that Sabine had an uncomfortable twinge in her heart, they were both feeling guilty at that. And it struck Sabine just how lucky they were to have had people as forgiving and good-hearted as the Oriena's stumble upon them. "They wouldn't let the trip here fall silent for more than thirty seconds," Ezra continued, smiling like it hurt him, "apparently they're trying to warm up on their parenting skills before they get kids of their own."

Oh. Well. That explained why he was so drawn.

Sabine cleared her throat after a beat of silence, drawing her friend's attention back to the present. They had serious and dangerous problems to talk about... and she just didn't like seeing him reminisce about the past when it so clearly made him sad.

"We can't stay here two weeks. _I_ can't." Ezra nodded, and Sabine smiled soberly as he caught on to her trail of thought.

"Yeah- body and injury descriptions like yours are bound to draw some eyes. Not to mention the fact that while you _could_ pass for their offspring, _I_ most definitely could _not_." He ended by pointing to his mop of raven-blue hair, in stark contrast with Tama's brown and Eilene's blond. Sabine had different features and such, to be sure, but nothing that the doctors could immediately point out, not when they'd been operating on her without either 'parents' face to compare to. Ezra, all it took was one glance to see that he wasn't theirs... their excuses wouldn't hold forever. Might not even hold for another few days.

"I guess color _does_ have a few negative repercussions..." Sabine said with a small smile, one that only grew as Ezra shot back an incredulous one of his own.

"Who are you and what have you done with Sabine Wren? Because she would _never_ admit color can give you away like this. _Ever_." Sabine laughed as Ezra elaborated his point, making wild gestures with his hands.

"She had to take a vacation, but I'll be more than happy to take a message."

"Well, tell her this- she better not try and take on any shocking conduits without me, because that's _my_ job." Sabine gave a hearty laugh, enjoying the relief it brought to the tension that had yet to melt inside her. It felt good to laugh and it felt good to see Ezra laugh because oh God, if they didn't laugh now they probably wouldn't have another chance until they were back on the _Ghost_.

They took a moment to savor their mirth, before Sabine reluctantly cleared her throat to continue.

"In any case, though, a few days is likely the most amount of time we're going to get before the Imperials notice us."

"And if we're still holing in with Tama and Eilene-"

"-the stormtroopers would most likely take them into custody-"

"-if they don't just shoot them there on the spot."

"Right... which means we'll have to leave their hospitality before the Imperials spot us."

"But your stomach-"

"Will be fine," Sabine growled, unwilling to become a burden in their plans. Ezra hesitantly nodded, seeing that he wouldn't change her mind in that regard.

"So," he continued, "how many days do we have until we have to move?"

"Probably somewhere around four. What with commander Morden on the case-"

"-it's doubtful that the bucketheads will slack as much as usual, you're right. So, stay low and don't move for maybe three more days, then take our stuff back from Tama and Eilene and disappear into Jhothal?"

"Hmm. If we do that the best bet is to fix my helmet or buy a new comm-"

"-no, we shouldn't buy a new one. That'll automatically attract their attention; Morden personally smashed mine, he'll know I need a new one and'll probably have his soldiers monitoring purchases."

"Alright, so we focus on trying to fix mine- that'll still take a day or two, though, right?"

Ezra nodded, sucking in a breath through pursed lips. "Yeah, Tama said it was pretty bad. But by the time we fix your helmet-"

"-the Empire would have probably caught onto us, and any attempts to get out of the city and rendezvous with Hera and the _Ghost_ would be ten times harder." Sabine bit her lip, trying to think a way out of the situation. They could leave earlier- but though she was convinced her wounds wouldn't be a problem once they were on the move, if they left today or tomorrow they most definitely would be. So they had to leave in at least two days, but that still left a huge gap for the Empire to find them.

"Wait." Sabine looked at Ezra, and was surprised to see him staring off into nothing with a slowly growing grin. She felt one sprout it's way into her facial expression as well, though she still had no idea about what the teen was planning.

"Do you have some great and wondrous plan to solve all our problems, oh Mighty Loth-rat?"

Ezra turned a dazzling grin over to her.

"Yes indeed, Mighty Mando- assuming you'd still have a connection to the bombs that we planted earlier?"

Sabine frowned. "In the tower?" Ezra nodded enthusiastically, and Sabine wondered just what was going through his head. "Well, yeah, it's a unique signature. But the bucketheads will have taken down all the explosives in the tower; even the ones you put in the vents."

Ezra shook his head, smile still plastered on his face, and Sabine wondered how there weren't more people infatuated with it. _You could learn a thing or two from this kid right here, you fake-smiling nurses._

"Not all of them."

Sabine raised an eyebrow, lips dancing as they twitched to whatever amused rhythm was pouncing around in her head. Trust Ezra to pull the unexpected from his sleeves and make it interesting- and in this case, lifesaving.

"Do tell..."


	21. Moving Out

**Helpful tip for newly moving peoples: _don't_ move during the end-of-grading-period-study-cram phase. _Especially_ if you're going to do so _and_ delay having the Internet people delay on installing their product. It makes for a stressful week of homework-doing and an even _more_ stressful time period of simple _agony_ as you sit there thinking about all the fanfiction you could be writing. -_- These past weeks have not been fun.**

 **But I am back! Again! And noticing that this always seems to happen! Ah well!**

 **I _will_ be updating frequently now, however, as that period of _no available writing medium_ gave me a _lot_ of time to think about how I want to progress this story. So, every cloud has a silver lining? Something like that. AND SEASON TWO OH MY GOSH IT'S AMAZING AND REX AND AHSOKA AND EVERYONE IS JUST PURE AWESOME AND THEN THE INQUISITOR AND _GAAAAGH_ I LOVE IT SO MUCH.**

 **Disclaimer: Do you ever think how weird it would be if there were actual cameras filming TV events as they happened? In cartoons, I mean. And you know where I would be in such a case? Still right where I am now, because I am in no way affiliated with the Disney or the Star Wars franchises. Excepting in the dozens (possibly hundreds) of products I purchase from them. -v-**

* * *

 _What was he thinking?_

Sabine frowned at the ceiling, tracing the only patch of light with her eyes. It came from a small window in the door, and the lights outside were angled just right for a small circle of light to shine on the ceiling instead of the wall. Sabine was glad for it, because it gave her something to focus on in the night while she pondered just _what_ Spectre six had been thinking.

He'd shared his plan- it was rather genius, but that wasn't what Sabine was mulling over. Throughout his entire stay (he'd remaiend until the nurses had kicekd him out) Ezra had looked... distracted. Not so much when they were planning, they were both completely focused while doing that, but through the rest of his time here he'd looked like there was something else floating around in that blue-haired head of his.

Worries? No; he was worried, but she'd been around him long enough to distinguish between worries and something else. This most definitely was something else.

Guilt? ...Maybe. There'd been a moment when Ja'lan had come back in and had started commending Tama on cauterizing Sabine's wound that Ezra had gone pale and shaky. She _knew_ he was shaken up and felt guilty, that wasn't a question.

But guilt to the point of distraction was Kanan's area of expertise. And while Ezra had been steadily picking up that habit (much to Hera's dismay), he wasn't yet on his Master's level. Sabine hoped.

A question, then?... Yeah, that seemed... appropriate. Or it fit, anyways. If he hadn't asked during his visit, though then it was either something he didn't deem important, or something he deemed _very_ important, and there were just too many potential ears listening in to what they were saying.

Sabine frowned, and a shadow momentarily covered the spot on the ceiling as a nurse walked by outside. If Ezra had something important like that, he would've found a way to ask her, or at least have given her more clues to go off of that he was holding something back. At the same time though, if he thought his question _wasn't_ important, then he wouldn't have been so _distracted_ by it.

So... an important question, but not one that was life-threatening? But then, why wouldn't he just ask her?

Unless he was worried about her answer?

 _I'm probably thinking way too much into this._ She most likely was. But there wasn't a whole lot that'd worry Ezra- scratch that, yes there was -but there wasn't a whole lot that would worry him about the _crew_ that he wouldn't _share_. He was obviously a secretive person by nature, but if he was concerned about some issue with someone on the _Ghost_ , he'd flat out tell them, or ask them what was wrong.

So what was worrying about- what _question_ was he worrying about -that he felt he couldn't share? What kind of question would have him worrying about her answer?

Sabine blinked.

 _Does he- did I say anything about...?_ No... had she? Had her concussed mind gone and spilled the beans about what'd been going on in her head? Honestly, Sabine couldn't remember anything other than the few images and scenes she'd already pulled up from sifting through the mass of sensations. She could have babbled her entire heart out to Ezra and she would still have no idea about it.

Blinking once again at the light spot on the ceiling Sabine bit her lip.

 _Do you know I like you?_

* * *

Stupid stupid stupid.

This plan- _he_ was so... _stupid_ ,

'Hey Sabine, how you doing? Oh, by the way, when you were injured and concussed and _dying_ you said you liked me, is that true?'

Yeah right- asking Sabine was one of the _worst_ plans he could _ever_ have come up with. Ezra groaned, slapping his hands on his face and breathing deeply. _I should just forget about this._

But here, in the dark of Tama's house, there was little else to think of as he struggled to fall asleep on the too-soft couch. That question- those thoughts -had kept him up near hours, now... and he was about as close to getting an answer as he'd been in those sewer tunnels. How could he be any closer, when he hadn't asked Sabine anything?

But that was a good thing. It meant a, he didn't pull a doosh move, and b, he didn't come off as a desperate prick. Because if he asked her, he would most definitely be playing the part of both roles. 'Oh hey, remember that near-lethal traumatic experience you went through a few days ago? Yeah, well, I'm gonna completely ignore that because I'm a super arrogant jerk and all I care about is how you feel about me. How do you, by the way?' No. Keeping silent was probably the best way to go. No- no _probably_ , it _was_.

And yet Ezra still wondered.

How long would the appropriate amount of time be until asking _wouldn't_ seem-

 _I can't believe this_.

He shouldn't be up this late thinking these things. They'd be leaving in three days- he should be planning some more, or even going to sleep! Not lying awake, thoughts going around and around like a hologram on loop.

Ezra sighed deeply through his nose, turning his gaze to the pile of Sabine's belongings in the corner of the room. He stared at her helmet- but without her underneath it, it just looked blank and... empty. He couldn't find any of his answers there... only she could help him, in the flesh. But the question was so _wrong_ , and totally inappropriate in their current situation. Still...

 _What;s going to happen once I find out?_

Ezra breathed out slowly, closing his eyes. No matter his reasons and no matter the right or wrong thing, with nothing else to focus his attention on, there was no way he could distract himself from thinking about Sabine and his selfish questions. He was just going to have to... to promise himself that he'd ask _when the time was right_. He wouldn't be a prick about it, and he wasn't going to be stupid about it... but he wouldn't be able to banish the question from his head until it was laid to rest.

 _When the time is right... and no sooner._

Because he wouldn't do that to Sabine. Not now, not in ten years, not ever. That wasn't fair to her. He would wait until the time was right- Ezra would wait.

That's what the Jedi did anyways.

* * *

It was two days later that they were planning to leave. It wasn't a long time, and it gave them little time to prepare, but any longer and both Sabine and Ezra feared the Empire would have caught onto their scheme and hunted them down. The two days did, however, allow Sabine more time to heal- though she felt a little vindicated to stay so still while Ezra prepared for their departure.

It wasn't like she could do anything else, though. Until the time came, any activity from her- a supposed miner's daughter with an injury enough to incapacitate most -would be viewed as odd, suspicious, and draw unwanted attention. She had to stay still and inconspicuous, and pray the Empire wouldn't match her files _here_ with her files from the Academy. That would give them a _direct_ lead to her position.

But there wasn't anything they could do about that either- so for now, they were just waiting with baited breath and trying to stay under the radar.

Sabine groaned, unused to _avoiding_ all the action. She was raring to go- the sooner they went through with their plan, the sooner they could finally get back to the _Ghost_ and finally bring this op to an end. There'd been few missions that the crew hadn't been able to complete, but she swore this wasn't going to be one of them.

Staring around the window-less room, Sabine desperately wished for something to take her mind off of the absolute _nothingness_ there was as she waited. Ezra wasn't there- she didn't _want_ him there or anything like that (though his company would be very welcome) -but he wasn't there because he was acquiring the tools and supplies they'd need to execute their plan. Nothing much, just a few restocking materials to get them through the op without sustaining anymore life-threatening injuries. Blaster packs, some more tools to replace those that Ezra had lost, a washing for their usual outfits- though Tama and Eilene were supplying that -and general items that would come in handy.

They wouldn't be able to make more of Sabine's explosive paint, however. Purchase of such volatile materials was bound to draw attention. Besides, such a small town like Jhothal wouldn't be able to supply the items needed for the 'boom' in her bombs.

However, that did not, by any means, mean that she wouldn't be of use as they executed the plan. Oh no. She was just as dangerous with her paints as she was without- it just meant her... creative side would be more active than usual. To the demise of the stormtroopers, of course. And with any luck, the tower itself.

She just had to wait until the time to leave... And in the meantime imagine all the different ways that her limbs alone could be used to take down a soldier of the Empire. It wasn't like she was bored with the activity-

There were many ways.

* * *

A soft knock on the door was the only indicator Sabine got before a small, blue-haired teenager was darting into her room. It didn't much matter though- she'd been wide awake before-hand.

"Did you have any troubles?" She asked quietly as the door hissed close behind him.

"Nope. You'd think a hospital would be a little harder to infiltrate than this." Sabine hummed, eyeing her colored helmet in Ezra's arms with relief. She suspected the rest of their gear was in the stuffed pack on his back- no doubt lent by Tama's family. Tonight was the night they left- and the night their planning came to fruition.

"Well, considering Jhothal isn't really a high-tech town, it's not too surprising. There's not too much income to be spent on things like high-tech security,"

"Yeah, I guess. Anyways, there's still some stuff at Tama's house- I couldn't fit all of it into the pack." He grinned sheepishly at Sabine, who rolled her eyes with a smile in return. "But for now, I figured-" Ezra slipped the pack off his back, opening it and pulling out her two shoulder pad pieces, "-you'd appreciate your armor, at least."

Sabine's eyes glinted in the soft night lighting the hospital provided, glancing quickly over the paint-speckled pieces before looking up at Ezra with a broad smile. "Just what I needed- and I managed to get a few bacta pills as well, when Ja'lan wasn't looking." Ezra nodded, looking pleased, and then tossed his pack over to Sabine, who deftly caught it.

"Those'll come in handy- but for now, it should just be best to get cha- get your gear on and then we'll sneak out." It was hard to tell in the dark, but Sabine swore, as Ezra ducked back out into the outside corridor, there was a faint tinge of pink on his face.

 _Weird_.

Sabine rummaged around in the pack, pleased when she felt what appeared to be her whole set of armor... and some extra cloth? She grabbed it out of the bag, confused at its presence, and then sighed exasperatedly as she pulled out a role of cloth bandages. It seemed Ezra wasn't as willing to forget as she was that she was still injured.

 _This boy-_ shaking her head fondly, Sabine stripped of the hospital gown and gladly changed into her _much_ more comfortable armor. She hadn't realized it, but the snug body-suit provided a layer of comfort that she doubted anything else could, even with a layer of bandages on her abdomen.

And so, it was fully donned in her armor that Sabine walked out of the room, having taken the few bacta pills she'd 'acquired' from Ja'lan and the medical staff and storing them in a small storage compartment on her wrist. Ezra was waiting outside in the hallway for her, his head snapping up to meet her helmeted one after previously standing guard. He was leaning against the pale blue walls, arms crossed, but as soon as she stepped into the much lighter corridor he was up and ready.

"It's not the best plan to go out the front doors, so we're going to have to go out through one of the windows." Sabine nodded, carefully observing how much her abdomen was tingling. She'd still have to be careful about her movements, but other than that she was pretty much a-okay.

"Well, you'd have the most experience with that now, wouldn't you?" Sabine grinned under the helmet, and judging from Ezra's returning quirky smile, he saw through the black visor to notice it.

"I have dabbled in the arts of window-jumping- accidental or not."

Sabine laughed, careful to keep her voice down in case there was a nurse attending one of their patients nearby. The facility wasn't a _big_ one, but there was still a certain amount of caution that needed to be exhibited.

"See, it's the 'accidental' window-jumping that makes me worry."

"Hey- as long as you stick the landing, it doesn't matter if it was accidental or not."

"Right, right." Sabine rolled her shoulders, fingers twitching slightly as they missed holding her pistols by her side. "We should get going- how much longer is it going to stay night?"

Ezra hesitated, then shrugged and started jogging quietly down the hall, Sabine following after a second. "Not sure. I left just about the same time the second moon started up, so a fair few hours."

"That's a relief. Wouldn't want to try this in day-light- how far away is Tama's place?"

"Not too far- only took me about fifteen minutes to get here." Sabine nodded, padding behind Ezra on silent feet. Fifteen minutes while holding all her hear would translate to about a mile, and then there was the actual trip to the facility. The overall journey would take them a while, maybe about an hour... maybe less if they found speeders. Though if they _did_ come across some vehicles, they'd have to ditch them before ever reaching the tower, to maintain the element of surprise.

Though with Ezra's plan they wouldn't stay stealthy for long.

Ezra rounded a corner, tense, but sprang up and sprinted after making sure the coast was clear. Following, Sabine ran into a loung-ish area, the soft night light-settings casting the few bits of furniture in an amiable and comforting fashion. More pleasing than the light, however, was the presence of a large line of paned windows signifying their exit.

Darting forwards faster than a Loth-cat on a Loth-rat, Ezra moved over to one of the windows and began easing one of the panes out. "If we just shoot through the glass it'll alert the sensors-" blaster-fire sensors, yeah, Sabine could see why a hospital would use them, "-and I don't know about you, but I'm not exactly wanting to punch through some glass right now." Sabine hummed, moving forwards to help her friend disassemble the window and making a hole large enough to jump through.

 _At least,_ Sabine thought dryly, _we aren't on the second floor._

* * *

The plains were wide and open, the double full moons illuminating the ground beneath them and making clear their route to Tama's. They were walking quickly, but their 'escape' from Jhothal had honestly gone a whole lot smoother than either Sabine or Ezra would have expected. Though they had _both_ noticed the increased number of stormtroopers in the usually empty town... and neither underestimated Morden's ability to keep his soldiers focused and on the lookout for them.

"They don't know for sure how many of us there are, though," Ezra was explaining, "since he never saw you. We _know_ he knows _I_ didn't make it out, but they don't have a definite lead that _you_ didn't either."

"True- but the Empire probably has a head-count on our cell, now. We can't take it for granted that they don't know I'm with you."

Ezra hummed, acknowledging her point. "Still, they won't know we're coming _tonight_. Though Morden'll probably expect us to come back sometime soon." Sabine sighed, sucking in a large breath through her nose and releasing it with such emotion it would have made Kanan proud. With just her and Ezra against an entire fortified base, Sabine knew their chances of pulling off the op were slim.

Though when were they ever otherwise?

"You know," Sabine started, eliciting Ezra to look back intrigued, "I _really_ think Kanan's planning skills are starting to rub off on us." Ezra smirked, turning around and walking backwards so he could shrug his shoulders and fully face her.

"Only a _little_ bit- I mean, all we're doing is sneaking in, fighting, and running out, right?" Ezra's entire body perked up as another thought came to him, and Sabine smiled as he deepened his voice in an imitation of Kanan: "There's no way _this_ one will go wrong, right guys? Come on- let's be optimistic!"

Sabine laughed, imagining the frown their fearless leader would be sporting if he were here to witness Ezra's impersonation of him. "But Kanan, your plan has flaws _everywhere!_ " Sabine played along, prompting Ezra to tap his chin and pretend goatee thoughtfully.

"Really? You can see them? Ah well- let's go!" Ezra whirled around, marching forwards like a grossly over-exaggerated general- until he tripped over something in the long grass and had to fling his arms out to prevent him from falling.

"Your plan's falling apart already, 'Spectre one'," Sabine giggled, and Ezra held up a single finger to contradict her-

"Not to worry- we are _extremely_ experienced in the art of making stuff up on the fly; we'll be alright!" The both of them laughed, Sabine ignoring the twinges and pulls of her abdomen in favor of the light-hearted moment with Ezra as they poked fun at Kanan. Once they got within sight of the tower, there would be no room or time for entertainment. Even now, while they were still alone and mostly safe, Ezra was trailing off early, an odd thing coming from such a lively teenager.

But his eyes were pinched in a frown- and as Sabine saw Ezra's eyes dart over to her face before rapidly looking away, Sabine knew he was thinking about whatever had distracted him before.

 _Right- enough questions and worries. You're going to spill or I am going to_ make _you._

"Ezra-"

"Look- there's Tama's house. D'you see it?" Sabine snorted, tempted to growl at the interruption but at the same time knowing that the op had now begun.

Oh well, asking Ezra now didn't matter- she'd weasel what was bothering him out sooner or later.

 _Business now- focus._ Sabine squinted across the horizon, trying to zoom in with her helmet's scanners and wincing when the picture came out blurry and unfocused. Apparently more extensive repairs were needed on it than they'd initially thought- but she could still see the basic outline of a house over in the distance.

"Kinda small, isn't it?" Sabine asked, smirking when Ezra shrugged with indignance.

"They're farmers now- you heard Eilene. Besides, it's just the two of them living alone."

"No need to get defensive here," Sabine teased, earning a light jab from Ezra as she drew even with him.

"I'm just saying. But come on, let's go!" Sabine rolled her eyes as Ezra started running through the tall grass, smiling as she joined him and pumped her legs to stay even with the teenager. Ezra laughed, voice getting snatched behind him by the wind, and then there was nothing more in the movement than a friendly race to a distant target that grew ever closer.

The outline of the was was dark, lit only by the moons and Sabine's visor. However Ezra crept up to one of the windows with no problem, easing it open silently. He hopped through the open gap, casting a hand back to silently beckon her in.

Tama's hosue was small and modest, furnished with a few couches and sitting spaces. Sabine could see a hall leading to what appeared to be two other rooms, and a door to her right that she presumed led to the rest of the house... though there wasn't a whole lot of it. Ezra padded through the room, relaxed, looking as though he was walking completely normally and yet making no noise. A special talent of his, most probably accumulated through too many nights creeping through the streets.

He moved over to the corner of the room, where there rested a small pile of things. Sabine joined him as she caught sight of her pistols, which Ezra handed to her, smiling. The Mandalorian holstered them gratefully, sighing with relief as the familiar weights settled on her waist. There were a few other objects lying on the floor, including Ezra's lightsaber (which he belted quickly as well), spare cloth bandages, and a few odd tools that Ezra carefully placed into his pack in certain places Sabine was sure he had especially reserved for them. However, there was still one more item lying there that Ezra hesitated over, frowning.

"Protein bars?" He whispered, and Sabine hummed in questioning. "I didn't... I didn't buy these..."

"Sorry-" both Ezra and Sabine whirled around, hands flying to their respective weapons before they registered Tama smiling gently at the both of them, standing in front of the door Sabine had noticed earlier, "-but I figured they might come in handy for you two."

Ezra relaxed, and Sabine lowerd her hands from her newly acquired blasters, following his example. He knew these people best, so Sabine would trust in his decisions regarding them. The miner-turned-farmer approached quietly, nodding at the protein bars in Ezra's hands. "I figured you'd be leaving soon, so when I check in on you only to find you gone and your things in a pile, it wasn't too hard to come to the conclusion that you were preparing to go out. Good to see you're doing better, Sabine." The Mandalorian nodded tersely, then cleared her throat.

"Well. Thanks. But like you said, we need to leave."

Ezra hesitated, taking a breath and giving Sabine a look that she could clearly read 'one-more-second' from. She sighed, but these people _had_ saved their lives. The least they could offer in thanks was a proper good-bye.

"Thank you for all your help, um, Mr. Oriena." Ezra nodded his head in a sort of awkward bow that made Sabine smile lightly under her helmet. "I know Sabine and I would most likely be dead without your help, so... yeah. And if- if you or Eilene ever need help, um, contact us, if you can. We owe you that much at least. Sorry. And thanks again. And... bye." Tama smiled lightly, accepting Ezra's thanks with a nodd of his head.

"We were happy to give aid to those who needed it- especially when you are some of the few among us prepared to give your lives to your cause. Just try-" his voice turned serious, "not to actually give them up, alright? There's too much death in this galaxy already."

Ezra smiled, nodding his head in a silent promise Sabine hoped he could keep. "Goodbye, Tama." He said, nodding at Sabine as his obligations to the miner were upheld. Sabine hesitated, then gave a quick farewell wave to the man before hopping through the open window. A second later Ezra followed, travel pack on his shoudlers and determined smirk set on his face. Sabine let loose a breath, clear-headed and ready to kick some bucket-head butt.

Tama slid the window shut behind them, and Sabine felt content at their parting. The civilian and his family wouldn't be in any more danger, now- at least not because of her and Ezra.

"You ready?" Sabine asked, totally and completely prepared to perform her utmost best in their coming op, and to get back home. Whatever was thrown at them next, they could handle it- with a little luck, teamwork, and a lot of explosives. They could do it.

Ezra grinned sheepishly at her. "Do you know which way to go?"


	22. Infiltration, Part the Second

**Alrighty- new chapter, new action, new _inter-_ actions, and everything else! I do have to warn you guys that while the climax is approaching and action is _much_ easier and faster to write for me, we are getting bogged down with projects and such. The previous two-day schedule is most likely not going to re-appear for a while, but rest assured there will _not_ be a period longer than a week with no updates. On this I swear- I'm getting tired of letting you guys and myself down, so I _will_ be writing more and updating faster. Thank you all for sticking with me so far- and enjoy! :)**

 **Disclaimer: DUDES THE FREAKING SEVENTH SISTER IS AMAZING AND I FREAKING _WISH_ I OWNED HER BECAUSE I WANT TO USE HER IN _EVERYTHING_. but I don't, so...**

* * *

Sabine lowered her helmet's scanner, squinting through the fuzz of the broken device was emitting and observing the facility. "There are more guards than before," she pointed out helpfully, watching the near two-dozen stormtroopers stationed around the western bay and it's corresponding storage areas.

They were pretty much forced to use the western bay as their entrance point- they most definitely could _not_ use the eastern bay. It had been all but demolished by the explosion, and the security _there_ had been nearly quadrupled. The western bay, on the opposite side on the eastern and hopefully the most likely to attract the least attention, would be their entrance point and hopefully their exit as well, if nothing went wrong.

Okay, so the western bay _wouldn't_ be their exit point.

"Can you find one of those plentiful guards on his own? Because if not, this whole plan is kinda gonna need to be re-written," Ezra commented, and Sabine hummed.

"Well, there isn't _one_ lone bucket-head that I can see, but there _are_ two patrolling on the outside, so we might be able to use them instead." Ezra grunted, and Sabine moved her right hand to point in the direction her chosen patrol was in. Ezra wouldn't be able to see them, far away from the facility as they were, but at least he'd have some sort of idea where they were heading. Sabine flipped her antenna up, pushing off her stomach and raising herself off the ground. The base looked much smaller and darker without her scanners, even as damaged as they were, with the only lights coming from inside the open production bays. The rest of it was lit only by the moons, but from their distance the building only appeared as a dark silhouette lit at the bottom.

Sabine stiffened as she rose, wincing as her abdomen objected. Ezra sprang up beside her, peering through the dark at the tower before raising his unlit lightsaber suggestively. "Shall we?" he asked, and Sabine nodded her head. The two jogged down the hill they'd laid down upon before for scouting purposes, the dry grass rustling under their feet as they both zipped through it.

"Remember-" Sabine called, careful to keep her voice only as loud as was needed for Ezra to hear it, "-no blasters! We don't want to scorch the armor!"

"Yeah, I know! You okay with that?"

Sabine's only response was a laugh.

The facility drew closer, and the Spectres cut their chatter for fear of being overheard and discovered. Sabine skidded to a halt and dove down behind a rock formation, only a few tens of feet away from the left storage bay's walls. Ezra stopped next to her, the only sounds he made with the maneuver coming from his breathing. He crouched down low besides her, and Sabine positioned herself on the balls of her feet.

She flipped down her helmet's scanners once again, growling and hitting the side of the device as the only picture coming in was fuzz. It cleared away after her 'persuasions', just in time to deliver the image of the two stormtroopers Sabine had singled out still on patrol. From the lack of surprised shouts or even intrigued searching, neither guard had spotted her or Ezra.

Sabine held two fingers straight up, and prepared herself to pounce. Ezra relaxed besides her, probably using the second or two they had before the patrolling guards walked by their hiding place to connect to the Force. Sabine subtly shifted to the right, giving a silent signal that she'd take out the trooper on that side. Judging from the fact that Ezra shuffled an inch or two silently over to the right, he'd seen and understood.

 _Steady... steady..._ The sounds of the bucket-head's boots scuffing the dry ground grew closer, and Sabine tilted her two fingers forwards slightly as she tracked their target's movements through the stone with her sensors. _Just a little more..._ A white boot presented itself past the edge of the rock, and Sabine's fingers jerked downwards.

She leapt at the nearest soldier, pushing her left foot off the rock to give herself leverage and _just_ enough height for her right foot to kick straight inbetween the gap of helmet and neck. The soldier went down with barely more than a stunned cry, and his partner whirled around, raising his blaster quicker than Sabine could draw hers-

And promptly went flying into the wall behind him, crashing into it and slumping down with enough force to make a small dent. Ezra stood up behind her, flexing his fingers. "Looks like phase one has been successfully carried out, wouldn't you say?" Sabine snorted.

"No, I'd say it's been successfully carried out once we both sneak in without getting caught. That _was_ phase one, remember?"

Ezra shrugged. "Okay, so, phase one _of_ phase one complete?" Sabine sighed, shaking her head as the teen joked quietly.

"Sure, sure, now let me get ready for 'phase two' of phase one-"

"So we can carry out phase three of phase one, then phase two, then three, then run?"

Sabine gave Ezra a _look_ , to which he shrugged and smiled cheekily.

A minute later Ezra was tugging off the bolted ventilation panel in the side of the storage bay, which would be his entrance, and Sabine was decked out in bucket-head armor, tugging uncomfortably at the large armor that had her positively swimming in extra room. She hadn't even needed to take off her regular armor to make room for it- though Ezra would have to carry her helmet with his as he went about _his_ half of the mission.

Sabine was _not_ looking forwards to wearing the bucket.

"Cheer up, it'll only be for like ten minutes. Hopefully." Ezra tried to console her, failing miserably, but nevertheless prompting Sabine to slide the dreaded helmet over her _stunning_ hair, replacing the vibrant colors with the bland white every soldier of the Empire wore. She had to slide the helmet forwards to properly look out of it, only to see a shaded Ezra looking at her weird.

"What?" She asked, shaking her head slightly as her voice came out distorted and mechanized through the filters.

"It's just..." Ezra seemed to struggle for words, shaking his head as though shooing a fly before finally coming up with, "It's weird to look at a bucket-heads armor and _not_ think 'bumbling idiot.'" He seemed to reconsider. "And it's kinda weird to know it's _you_ under there too. _Waaay_ too colorless."

Sabine huffed. "You can say that again... ugh, and it _smells_ like something _died_ in here- the sooner we're done here, the sooner I'm taking this off and burning it to the ground." Ezra's upper lip twitched in a small smile before he bent down to retrieve the stormtrooper's blaster.

"You'd look a little weird to the Imperials too if you weren't holding this." Sabine took the weapon grudgingly, eyeing it with distaste. Honestly, she hadn't like the bucket-heads before, but _now_...

"Alright- let's just get moving." Sabine's face twisted in momentary concern, and she hesitated. Ezra did, too, his eyes momentarily shining with worry.

"Be... be careful, Ezra," Sabine cautioned, knowing they were truly on their own in this mission. They had to take care of themselves- and while Ezra could take care of himself, Sabine... didn't like the thought of... things happening.

"Yeah- you, um, you too, Sabine." Ezra nodded, seemingly unsure that that was all he wanted to say.

"...Right." Sabine nodded at the padawan, then, before she could change her mind, she spun around and marched towards the western production bay, her training from years before coming up to the surface and giving her the exact look of a stormtrooper.

Though they all _wished_ they had armor as good as hers.

* * *

Of all the things that registered as odd to Sabine, walking around inside an Imperial facility and _not_ having to hide from the soldiers inside was definitely high on the list. She had to practically force herself not to bolt or raise her blaster every time a bucket-head turned the corner- which, in a base like this, was a lot. It was even weirder that she wasn't being shot at for once, especially this deep in enemy territory. She would have thought someone would have noticed her armor was a bit bigger than her body and called her out by now, but apparently the Empire's own men didn't care about their troopers either.

In a way, she felt a little pity for the soldiers that no one- friends or enemies -seemed to care about what was under the armor.

Still, it made her job that much easier, and she wouldn't complain that for once everything was going to plan. Though Sabine knew their luck could run out sooner than later- after all, there were three parts to their plan, and infiltration was just the first step. Plus there were two of them infiltrating this time- twice the people, twice the chances of discovery and then everything else going wrong.

 _Stop worrying so much- Ezra knows enough to keep himself safe. Just follow the plan._

Until it's inevitable collapse, of course.

Sabine turned a corner, stilling her nerves as she caught sight of yet another Imperial soldier walking down past her, and then being internally relieved at the sight of an elevator at the end of the hall. She'd only had a small amount of time to memorize the route to the room Ezra had described- she could find it perfectly on her wrist-computer, as she still had a connection to the bombs, but with the stormtrooper armor covering up that screen she didn't have access to it. The sight of an elevator meant she was still taking the right route- an important little detail, because if she got lost in the tower and couldn't execute her part of the plan in time, they'd be doomed.

 _He said it was on the fourth floor- so after I get out of the lift,_ Sabine stepped into the empty elevator and entered in her designated floor, _there should to two junctions to pass, and then it's the first on the left..._ she hoped. Without the internal schematics of the facility, she only had a basic idea of where her target was, provided to her by the signal she still shared with the bombs she was after. She knew it was on the fourth floor through Ezra, but after that she'd really only been able to make an educated guess on the position of the room based on the coordinates her wrist-computer gave and the generic layout of Imperial facilities.

The lift stopped and opened, and Sabine was met with the sight of a sparsely filled hall. She was guessing Morden hadn't found what Ezra had left behind, then, if there weren't guards stationed at every junction in the floor.

 _Though I guess most of the bucket-heads were deployed in guarding the outside, not monitoring the inside._ That was good- that meant there were fewer stormtroopers in _her_ way, so it would take less time for her to finish her part and get back to Ezra.

Sabine strode forwards, keeping a non-hurried, normal pace and tried to slow her breathing. _Any second now._ Past two junctions, first door on the left. Two junctions, first left. One junction, first left. First left-

" _Intruder alert!_ " Sabine flinched as the Imperial officer's voice exploded through her borrowed helmet's built-in comm system. " _Units ten through twenty-three, converge on the eastern facility- they're taking over the anti-air cannons!_ "

 _Right on time._

Immediately, the few stormtroopers that were in Sabine's view started sprinting towards the lift she'd just left. Sabine raised a hand and pressed in to her temple, pretending to be receiving more orders as she stayed still and counted the number of bucket-heads running past. There weren't too many, but Sabine knew that was just because these few were just a portion of the soldiers on this floor, and this floor just a portion of the entire force now trying to find Ezra.

All according to plan- but now Sabine had to act fast.

Most of the soldiers were out of her view when she quickly darted into her targeted room. It took her a second to adjust to the dim lighting, but Sabine was able to observe racks of helmets and armor and a few storage crates lined up on the opposite side of the room. She ran over to the crates, approaching one she thought she recognized and popped the lid off of it-

"Hello, strangers," she whispered to the half-filled crate of her explosives. Looked like Morden and his soldiers hadn't found the remains of Ezra's stash from the beginning of the op, leaving them for Sabine to play with. They would regret that. They would regret that very much.

Sabine activated the repulsors on the crate, pushing and guiding it with her left hand and hefting her borrowed blaster up in the other as she approached the door. It opened with a hiss, and Sabine stepped through, raising the gun and was prepared to aim at anything that moved. Now that she had successfully retrieved the bombs, stealth wasn't _such_ an important factor. She would restrain herself from actually shooting anybody unless they aggressed her, however. Knowing how little their own comrades cared for a lone storm-trooper, Sabine figured she could still go by unnoticed- even with the crate -unless someone got a view of it's contents. So, unless someone questioned her she'd remain passive, to draw the least attention to herself before her job was done.

Straining her ears and hearing nothing of the clattering of footsteps to indicate oncoming bucket-heads, Sabine plucked a bomb from her crate and stuck it on the wall.

Begin phase two of the plan- now all Sabine could do was execute it and hope to whatever deities that were out there that Ezra could pull off his own phase two. Honestly, she had the easy part- there shouldn't be more than a handful of personnel on the floor now, and Sabine could easily take down those. Ezra was pretty much being hunted by the entire facility, not to mention commander Morden. If he didn't get into any trouble during infiltration then he should be hiding- not in the vents, too obvious, but somewhere a little more... cramped.

Sabine just hoped that he'd be able to hide from Morden until she had phase two finished and could go pick him up before the whole building came down on their heads- and that Hera and Kanan would notice what they were doing in time to pick them up. Because if not, their whole plan would not only crumble, but go up in smoke-

Along with them.


	23. Discovery

**Twenty-three chapters in and I only just now realize I never gave you guys a specific timeframe- sorry :p. This is pretty much after Vision of Hope but before Call to Action, though (sadly) the Inquisitor will not make an appearance. I love his character to death (as well as several _other_ Inquisitors :3) but he doesn't fit _this_ story as well as I would like him to.**

 **Disclaimer: See, I have this feeling I would have each of my disclaimers just gushing about some new feature of Season 2- because I don't want to repeat and get boring, I actually had to _ban_ myself from doing so again- even though I love EVERYTHING ABOUT SEASON TWO AND ALL IT CONTAINS -so that I can actually get my point across that I _don't_ own Rebels or Disney or Star Wars or anything that would make me a happy Tooka :3.**

* * *

Sabine planted her last bomb, and felt disappointment swallow her heart even as she sprinted away from it and towards the nearest lift, the little packs of explosive power glinting at her from every other junction. The bombs would detonate, do their damage and get the _Ghost_ crew's attention, like they were supposed to... but the amount of explosives Ezra had left behind and that Sabine had found wasn't nearly enough to cause the tower to fall on any one of the three remaining operational production bays. The crew hadn't left too many ops uncompleted, and Sabine felt... a little ashamed that this mission would end uncompleted as well. But there wasn't anything else they could do- it was just her and Ezra, and their mission had switched from taking out the station to getting out with their lives.

That didn't mean it didn't leave a bitter taste in Sabine's mouth.

Sabine ran to the elevator, for once glad that the stormtroopers would be too preoccupied on finding Ezra to notice her. She'd dealt with a few bucket-heads up here, yes, but for the majority she'd been left alone for her task. It just meant she could finish and get back to her teammate faster. She'd had to, however, turn off the communicator built into the helmet, just so she wouldn't have to deal with Imperial officers screaming themselves hoarse as they tried to pin down the illusive Loth-rat. Sabine entered the elevator and jammed the button for the bottom floor, almost pressing a floor below-

 _A floor below the ground floor? Hera's plans didn't say anything about there being an underground section..._ Information the _Ghost_ crew would have to put to use later on in another op, maybe, but for now...

Sabine growled, tightening her grip on the borrowed blaster and wishing to just commence an all out attack on the facility to make up for their earlier failure. Until they regrouped, however, that was just a far-fetched dream.

 _Focus- Ezra's relying on you to get him and get out._ With the amount of time she'd been planting her explosives, Ezra was almost certainly in his hiding place. Sabine would need to move quickly now, not just because Ezra's spot wouldn't remain hidden for long with the entire facility looking for him, but also because Morden was bound to know she had been left behind with Ezra and therefore search other areas of the facility- and discovering her bombs as a result of that. There were enough to the point where it would take a decent amount of time for any number of soldiers to defuse and remove them, but Sabine wanted to keep them a secret from the base as long as possible.

The elevator stopped, and Sabine steeled herself for the inevitable sight of dozens of stormtroopers- and was immediately thankful she'd done so, because there _were_ indeed _dozens_ of them running around in the base of the tower. It looked to be a high-traffic crossroads area, and Sabine realized from that that the bucket-heads had resorted to running around on a wild goose-chase in their attempts to find him. She couldn't help but grin at the thought of the trained, efficient, 'deadly' warriors running around in the hopes of stumbling across a lone child.

Much like Ezra playing with the little girl in the markets, actually...

Sabine jogged forwards, eyes darting from soldier to soldier as they ran past in teams of threes and fours, no doubt being told by their commanding officers- maybe even Morden himself -to search a specific area. Honestly, Sabine couldn't see _how_ the Empire managed to rule thousands of worlds when _this_ was what they operated as on the inside.

 _Western bay was our target exit; Ezra's hiding in the western- eastern should still be swarming with buckets, we_ have _to leave through one of the other three;_ Sabine briefly looked at the labelling above the separate halls, glad the Empire at least made it obvious where the separate bays were. She moved through the crowd of white armored soldiers, feeling very much like a sly loth-wolf in sheeps clothing, and followed the flow of men down the twists and turns. She knew where Ezra was- vaguely, anyways, so it was a simple matter of getting to the right location and pointing _herself_ out so he'd be able to tell it was her.

 _Left-hand side storage bay, near the back._ They'd figured there wouldn't be too many stormtroopers looking in the storage bays, but once again, as the bucket-heads' search got going, Morden would not doubt be able to weed the both of them out, so Sabine hurried. The number of Imperials dwindled the further down the halls she got, until she actually started to worry about how odd she'd look without a squad running behind her.

 _No matter- hurry, hurry, we just need to get together and get out._ That was the plan. That was all they had to do- and as Sabine slipped into the open storage bay to only be met with the sight of eight or so bucket-heads, she smirked. She and Ezra could take out eight- not with immense ease, but they could, if necessary, and then it would just be a matter of getting out without being shot.

Okay, so a little more complicated than that, but that was mainly it.

Sabine walked slower, nodding to the stormtroopers as if greeting them and walking quickly with purpose. People didn't tend to question you if you looked like you belonged- which Sabine was taking advantage of right about now. The other guards looked at her for a second, but then went back to rattling the gigantic bins of ore to see if anyone was in them.

The entire storage room looked like it was filled with rows and rows upon what resembled ladders- huge, _gigantic_ ladders, holding filled dumpsters the size of large speeders absolutely _stuffed_ with raw ores, other building materials, and further on what looked like already assembled pieces of machinery yet to be built. There looked to be about ten columns of the vertical storage spaces, each which held two containers of materials, and each column stretch back what looked like four or five rows. Sabine was moderately impressed by the amount of _stuff_ inside a single room, and even more so with the knowledge that there were at least seven other storage bays surrounding the other production lines most probably containing the same amount of materials.

And the bucket-heads were probably looking inside every single bin (if they hadn't already) in vain, while Sabine knew exactly where her partner was. Well, not _exactly_ , but close enough, to the point where she could find him in a few seconds. _They_ didn't even know where to _start_ looking.

Though Morden was smart to have a stormtrooper posted in what looked like every room in the lower floors. Usually the entire brunt of a search party was out and about, constantly moving from place to place, leaving an area completely alone if judged to be 'empty.' The rebels found it pathetically easy to hide from the stormtroopers during those types of searches- just stay still a few minutes, wait until they leave, and then an escape was pretty much guaranteed. If it wasn't Kanan planning, anyways.

Sabine turned out of the main center row of the bay, heading inbetween two of the vertical storage bin holders and the far wall behind them. She walked quickly, trying to keep the stolen armor from making too much noise as she headed further down. Her pace quickened further as she approached the side of the room, and Sabine's eyes caught sight of piles of broken things heaped up against the walls, joining the dirt and dust that had caked itself onto the walls over time. There were a few stacked crates as well, lined up here and there, and Sabine found herself looking past them, up and down the wall.

 _Gotta be here somewhere. Well, probably-_

"Hey!"

Sabine whirled around, gripping her blaster tighter reflexively. She didn't aim it though- which she was glad for, because the pair of stormtrooper officers behind her weren't aiming to shoot, and though the main part of their mission was almost done, stealth would be- and was still -a large asset.

"Um, yes sir?" Sabine stilled herself, willing the large helmet on her head wouldn't wobble and give away it was at least two sizes too big.

"Where's your partner?" _Uh oh._

"My- my partner? Oh, uh, he... had to... other priorities. I mean orders." Sabine leaned against a storage crate, hoping the casual attitude would throw the officers off the scent of her growing tension. It looked like a conflict was going to be inevitable, and she felt her fingers itch towards the trigger on her blaster.

"We were ordered to search for the rebel in pairs-" _Probably should've kept the helmet's comm on to hear that_ "-so what are you doing here alone?"

The top flew off the crate Sabine was leaning on, and Ezra's head popped out.

"Who said she was alone?"

There was a silent moment of shock as the stormtroopers tried to adjust to the sudden sight of Ezra, a moment which the teen used to his advantage as he flung out his arms and pulled the two troopers together with some judicious use of the Force. Their heads snapped against each other and they clattered to the ground, now unconscious and incapacitated without ever have alerted the other guards.

"Learned _that_ from Kanan," Eza proudly declared, hopping out of the storage box- which he'd been hiding from the troopers in until Sabine had reached him -and stretching.

Sabine shook her head fondly. "And I guess you got your timing from him as well- you and him both are impeccable. When you want to be," She added, recalling all the times Kanan would have to yell and near drag Ezra to training. He winked at her as the both of them grabbed a stormtrooper and dragged them behind a storage unit, where they wouldn't be immediately visible by the other guards if they came and searched around that area before Sabine and Ezra were done.

"I try. You finish with the explosives?" She nodded, gesturing with her head to the front of the storage bay, where the access terminal was. The two moved along the wall, creeping towards the front of the hangar and darting between the suspended storage units in order to stay hidden from the other searching stormtroopers.

"I'm assuming you also finished with the anti-air guns?" Sabine could _feel_ the grin on his face in response to her question.

"Yup- every part. Now all we need is to detonate, wait, and we'll be good." A breath of air puffed out from Sabine's mouth as she sighed in relief. So far, so good- the hard part was done, and now it should be relatively smooth sailing back to the _Ghost_.

"Then let's get plugged in and get out of here." Ezra hummed his agreement to her statement. Sabine carefully peeked out around the edge of the very last ladder storage unit, motioning Ezra forwards with her head when she saw no visible stormtrooper. There was a computer terminal on the front side of the hangar, near the doors, that Sabine and Ezra were heading to- luckily, the other guards seemed to have moved on from the front and were focused on the middle sections now, so their accessing it would go largely unnoticed.

Standardly used for inventory, with a few clicks of her fingers Sabine was reading into the facility's sensor readings of the dull screen. "I hope they see this," she muttered, and shook off her right hand plate to reveal her wrist computer underneath. Ezra nodded solemnly, flicking his gaze between where the rest of the guards would be searching and the terminal. Sabine felt very small all of a sudden. There were near hundreds of stormtroopers in here, and only her and Ezra against them.

 _Come find us,_ Sabine silently prayed, and pressed the detonation control.

Immediately, there was a loud and large _BOOM_ , accompanied by a vibration Sabine could feel even through her double-layered armor. There were shouts of exclamation from the other guards in the room, and Sabine didn't need to have her communication unit in her helmet on to know every Imperial in the facility was most likely listening to their commanders screech new orders. Angry klaxons screamed overhead as the emergency protocols kicked in. Sabine moved herself in front of Ezra, blocking him from the sight of the stormtroopers as they rushed past- which turned out to be unnecessary, as the sprinting soldiers paid heed to neither Ezra nor herself in their mad dash to the exit.

Sabine knew the buckets were panicking, but once commander Morden got ahold of all the chaos there would most probably be more bucket-heads returning to the storage-areas and every other area in the compound, to try and conduct an extensive search once more for both her and Ezra. Until that time when they came back, however, the two Spectres would man the terminal and keep an eye out for the _Ghost_ on the tower's scanners, right until such time it arrived or she and Ezra were found.

"Um, Sabine?" Ezra asked as the doors swished closed behind the last running stormtrooper. She didn't answer him, distracted as she was by-

"My wrist-comp is still connected to some explosives..." They should have all been blown up- those few she had scattered on the upper floor had been the only ones Sabine had recovered, she hadn't been able to make more, and the rest of the stash that had been used in the op before would've been take up by the Empire. Unless...

"Yeah, and I think I found them." Sabine turned around to face Ezra, who in turn pointed at the computer console, which was flashing red. "As soon as you detonated those bombs, it went wild and started a program- AntiBlast I think it said -and it locked down-" Ezra squinted at the console, and Sabine directed her gaze to the screen as well, to see several flashing symbols that could only mean blast doors and lifts had been shut down or closed around and leading to what was now revealed as a large underground chamber beneath the entire facility, "-the basement?"

 _AntiBlast..._ It wasn't often that the Empire named their programs and codes, opting instead for a number or letter based title. The fact that the specific word 'anti-blast' had been used for such a programming, in a section of the base even _Fulcrum_ hadn't had access to or knowledge of, and that Sabine was reading the specific signatures of her unique miracles down below them pointed to one obvious conclusion-

"Oh my god," Sabine breathed, and Ezra looked at her with a quizzical frown. Sabine looked back down at her comp, reconfirming her extra stash of bomb's location. _Could it just be a developmental area instead?_ That would explain the lock-up once the station recognized the signature of an explosion, and that it was underground and off of Fulcrum's maps... But the specific name and the fact that it was currently housing her own _explosives_ left Sabine with only one verdict. And she was suddenly very glad she hadn't accidently detonated _all_ the bombs she had a connection to.

"Sabine?" Ezra asked, and she cast her gaze at him once again, knowing they had been _so_ close to dying- again. Her gut gave an uncomfortable twinge.

"You're sure it said AntiBlast?" She asked quickly, and Ezra frowned before nodding. Sabine exhaled deeply, looking back down at her wrist comp before staring back into those blue, blue eyes. "I think... I think I know what's down there. Ezra, I think there's a developmental explosive manufacturing line down there, and that's where they took the bombs of mine that they found." Ezra's eyes widened, and he quickly looked back at the terminal before asking quietly,

"So, when they name their lock-down procedure _AntiBlast_..." Sabine nodded slowly.

"I think there's enough explosive power down there to take out the entire facility."


	24. Found

**Looks like I'm back to my old ways... :3**

 **Disclaimer: Oooooh, the things I would do if I had Rebels under my control... nothing sinister, I promise- just lots and lots of fluff. After having the characters dance with death -v-**

* * *

"The _whole_ _station_?!" Ezra gawked, and Sabine shakily nodded.

"Or most of it- that map up on the screen is showing that the entire room is pretty large, and if it's all filled with explosive materials..." Ezra funneled a condensed breath through pursed lips, running his eyes up and down the monitor once again, as if re-evaluating the chamber displayed there. Sabine bit her lip under the helmet as she did the same, their plan spiraling around in her head.

"We can't pass this opportunity up," Ezra finally commented, raising his voice to definitely be heard above the alarms overhead, "but I don't think we'll be able to go through with the original plan."

Sabine shook her head. "Definitely not. If we detonate that entire room it'll take out near all of the ground floor," excitement trilled in her chest, "and I don't think there'll be anywhere safe on the grounds out there once we do." And even if there _was_ and she and Ezra both survived the explosion (again), there was bound to be more smoke and stormtroopers than the _Ghost_ crew could handle on their own- at least not without someone else getting hurt.

"So, detonation would have to wait until we got back on the _Ghost_ -" Sabine interrupted Ezra before he could finish the thought,

"No- even here my connection to the bombs is weak, there must be some sort of interference. If we want to detonate, we would have to activate it still- still inside the tower." And _that_ was the crutch- no matter how far away Sabine and Ezra went from the explosion in the facility, the only real direction to run in was up. With how much firepower Sabine was guessing lay inside that manufacturing chamber, there was a chance it could uproot the tower and cause it to fall, much like with the original plan the crew had concocted.

Sabine really didn't want to be inside that tower if it fell.

But taking out the tower was too sweet an opportunity to miss out on, and since when had the _Ghost_ crew really been hindered by risks?

"Right- so, we need to go _up_..." Sabine could see Ezra process that change and all the danger it entailed, and could actually pinpoint the second with which he decided the same thing she had- no matter the danger, they had to do this.

"You gonna be able to get to another terminal without attracting attention?" Ezra asked, trying to conform the original plan with the newest development. Sabine hesitated, thinking for a moment, then nodded tersely.

"I still don't think Morden has any idea I'm in armor, so I should be able to move around with relative ease. _You_ on the other hand-"

"Can, though in no way am looking forwards to, go through the vents." Sabine smirked as Ezra pouted slightly, but didn't poke fun at him for it.

"How're we going to meet up then? I'm pretty sure you're not going to just crawl around the whole tower until you find me in a whole crowd of other people who look like me." Ezra shook his head, navy hair flying, and tapped his head.

"I can probably sense you if I focus hard enough- it won't be like with Kanan since we don't have a bond-" something twinged inside Sabine's stomach "-but I'm pretty sure I can find you. And if I can't, I can just nab someone's helmet at contact you that way- you know your frequency number?"

Sabine popped off her helmet, taking in a deep and _much_ needed breath of fresh air even as she maneuvered the helmet around to peer at the inside. "Looks like..." she squinted at the tiny identification number hidden there, "1N-D-03."

"1N-D-03," Ezra muttered back, nodding, and Sabine knew he'd committed the tag to memory. "Alright- so where are we gonna try to do this?"

Sabine hesitated, biting her lip and staring at the monitor. She moved a sweaty lock of hair from her forehead, thinking deeply on their options. "Morden will know we won't be near the floor we just bombed, so it might be safe to try and relocate over there. Of course, it might _also_ be safer to head higher up the tower, for the blast. But the higher up we go the closer we get to the officials, and there wouldn't be many troopers _there_ because they're looking for us _elsewhere_ , so I would stand out. Not to mention it's most likely where Morden would be."

"So, at the blast sight or above it?"

"...At it. Easier for the _Ghost_ to find us from there. They'll want to stick to the air, since they won't know you've taken out the anti-air guns until we can tell them."

Ezra sighed. "After all that work I went to installing those viruses..." Sabine smirked openly, recalling those hours spent planning in the hospital that had eventually concluded in Ezra installing a program into the _other_ anti-air guns that would render them useless once fired. With the new additions to the plan, it looked like those viruses wouldn't ever need to be used... though if their new plan panned out, nothing in the facility would ever be used again.

"Alright- so I'll head over to the blast sight, find a terminal, wait for you to find me, the both of us wait for the _Ghost_ , we comm them with the tower's frequency, and blow the entire place to smithereens when they're in the right position to pick us up." Sabine paused. "Doesn't sound dangerous at all."

Ezra smirked at her, shrugging his shoulders. "Eh- we've gone through worse. You got your helmet's comm on?" Sabine rolled her eyes and grumbled, her hands moving to activate the communications unit, but pausing when she noticed-

"Where's mine?" The colorful piece of artwork was _indeed_ missing from the scene, and Sabine found herself aching to wear _it_ instead of the bucket.

The teenager winked at her. "Somewhere safe; trust me."

Sabine blinked back. "I do."

Ezra opened his mouth, blinked a couple of times, closed his mouth, shook his head, and then muttered something to himself that sounded an awful lot like 'not the right time to ask'.

"Uh, right- we um, we need to start moving. Now." Ezra cleared his throat, looking rather uncomfortable, and gestured to the door. "I'll see you when I get there."

Sabine hesitated again. He was thinking about whatever it was that'd distracted him so much earlier on in the hospital again. "Ezra-"

"We don't have a lot of time- you need to get going." His blue eyes were clear again, still hiding something but resolved to keep it that way until a later time. Sabine pursed her lips, unhappy with her partner concealing _whatever_ it was bothering him- even though she had an idea of what. But he was right- they needed to get moving _now_ if they wanted to pull off the mission with _any_ degree of success.

She pointed an accusing finger at Ezra. "Don't be late." He grinned a sly grin back at her, all hints of his earlier conflict hidden behind the faux mask Sabine hoped to one day show him he didn't need.

"And risk the wrath of the Mighty Mando? Never." Sabine snorted.

"Good- 'cause this time I got a whole facility of bombs to back me up."

* * *

Sabine was barely two floors below the one she'd bombed before the smell of smoke drifted in through the helmet's filter. She was surprised, but not displeased. The larger the destruction, the better chance the message got out to the _Ghost_ that 'hey, something's going on down here you might want to check out.' Their luck had held out so far, but Sabine had a nasty feeling it wouldn't last for much longer, and figured the sooner the _Ghost_ came to take them back home the better.

 _You know, maybe, once in a while, we take on a mission that_ doesn't _somehow land one or more of us in mortal peril. Just once. It might be nice, going somewhere without being shot at._

But that would most likely only happen when the Empire was finally defeated- so, if anything, their persistent hunting of the rebels and Sabine only served to further her resolve to take them out. And so she would- to her last dying breath, Sabine would fight against the bucket-heads until she could finally live in a world where she _didn't_ have to fight. That would take years- would take dozens of sacrifices, hundreds of close-calls, and thousands of more missions- but it would happen. Eventually. Sabine and Ezra just had to get out through this one alive, and so many others afterwards, and they would make it to a better world. They just had to make it out alive.

Sabine prepared herself, steeling nerves as the smell of smoke drew closer with more pungency. The elevator slowed to a stop, and the sounds of muffled actions and orders filtered in through her helmet- over the now-calmer orders still coming in through her headset -even before the doors opened.

She was expecting the floor to be moderately occupied with soldiers trying to restore what order they could to the place. With the activation of the AntiBlast procedure, they were no doubt scared Sabine had hidden explosives elsewhere in the facility, so she expected to encounter _maybe_ ten or so stormtroopers overall in her journey through the detonated floor.

Not _dozens_.

Apparently Commander Morden had been expecting the Spectres to return to the detonated and destroyed floor, because in addition to the salvage parties and the clean-up crews, there were small patrols of three or four stalking down the halls, no doubt on high alert for any sign of her or Ezra.

 _I need to stop underestimating this Morden,_ Sabine thought, once again thankful that the stolen stormtrooper armor kept her disguised. If it didn't, the entire area she was in now would have been an almost certain deathtrap. She trotted through the halls, looking for all intents and purposes that she _had_ a purpose to be there, orders to follow, and a goal to reach.

Well, she _did_ , but probably _not_ the same goal that the rest of the bucket-heads had.

Sabine hadn't _just_ been placing her explosives all willy-nilly around the place- there was a certain method to her madness. Kind of. She'd thoroughly spread them all out across the floor, of course, but there had been a few places along the outer _outer_ walls and edges of the tower that she'd placed two or three. Not just for the fun of it, most definitely- those five 'special' places would now be home to large, _definitely_ people-sized holes responsible for the chilled draft that Sabine could feel through her armor. As they stood right now, they were useless danger hazards, leading to a near forty-foot drop down below. Sabine was heading straight towards one of them in the hopes of finding a terminal, because once the _Ghost_ came and found them, they wouldn't be death-traps anymore- instead a viable escape route. She hadn't _meant_ for them to turn out that way- when she'd blew the holes in the walls it would have been to confuse the bucket-heads and make the _Ghost_ 's actual entrance point become that much more hidden to the.

The closer she and Ezra would stay to one of the holes as they waited to scan the _Ghost_ through the tower, the better. Quicker escape, less stormtroopers able to get there in time to block them, and less hassle. Not just that, but she and Ezra would need the least amount of time to get into a safe-haven before the bombs went off below- Sabine would _have_ to blow hers from inside the tower itself, so she and Ezra both would need to be able to jump onto a secure surface if or before the tower started falling.

 _This is still gonna be pretty hard,_ Sabine mused, eyes tracking yet another search party walk by. _There are plenty of stormtroopers on this floor alone, and they'll all have the same idea of where the_ Ghost _is as we will. We might get swamped pretty fast by them- but it's not like we can do anything to change that._ They had no more distractions to pull- Sabine couldn't blow another bomb without putting their lives in jeopardy, Ezra couldn't pull focus onto himself or another part of the facility without either putting attention back on him or taking too much time and missing their exit.

 _Oh I_ swear _if he does something like that just to make sure I can get out..._ Honestly, Sabine could see Ezra trying to pull something like that. Especially after all the time he'd spent with the _Ghost_ crew- but if he _did_ try something like that, Sabine _would_ go and drag him back by the ear and he _would_ learn to _not. Do that. Ever._ Sabine didn't like leaving people behind. She liked leaving her loved ones behind even less. And Ezra-

 _No. If he ever does something stupid like that I am going straight back after him- whatever the case. You're not sacrificing yourself for_ me _, Ezra Bridger- I'm making sure of_ that. Sabine sighed slightly, stepping over a fallen girder and stilling her urge to paint a bright symbol on one of the non-scorched walls. He better not do anything stupid. He'd better not.

Sabine rounded the corner and was met with the sight of one of her holes in the walls, surrounded by scorched metal that had been blackened from as far as ten feet away, including up the adjacent hall. She couldn't help but feel proud about her work. Peeking through the hole, Sabine could just barely make out the moon and stars above, the trailing smoke was so thick. She was protected from the brunt of it through her helm- through the bucket, but Ezra would probable need to hold something up to his face to prevent the acrid smoke from doing any damage. Especially in those ducts, with the limited airspace-

 _He'll take care of himself. Unless he starts doing_ stupid _things, I don't have to worry about him... too much_. For now, she just had to focus on finding a somewhat secluded terminal. Which, honestly, would have been a lot easier if she _hadn't_ placed explosive miracles around the place. Although the individual rooms should still be somewhat functional... if there hadn't been a bomb placed directly on one of the outer walls...

Sabine pressed the opening key to a door on her left, only half-surprised when it failed to open. This _was_ right next to one of her concentrated explosion areas, after all. A large chunk of area surrounding the blast-zone was bound to be inoperable.

Still, she pressed on around the edges, staying within the same area of the hole and desperately hoping to find a room she could get into-

Like this one.

The door halted half-way through, but even with the double-layered armor Sabine could squeeze through it. _Ah,_ this _room,_ Sabine thought, recalling it very specifically as she looked at the absolutely _destroyed_ room. None of the others were _this_ bad on the inside- and that was because none of the others had housed stormtroopers that'd seen her. She'd been heading away from her condensed bomb area when a soldier had exited the room, seeing her and giving the few soldiers inside a vantage point as well. Instead of charging in the room to take them all out one by one, which would have given them time to call in about her presence, she had chosen to throw in a grenade and take out the single lone soldier that had exited.

The result had been... productive. The entire inside of the room- which had blown out the wall of the _other_ room adjacent to it -was black and ashy, the ceiling a mess of loose, sparking wires and still-smoking ceiling panels. If she looked past some of the destroyed wreckage, she could actually peer up into the floor of the room above her.

Sabine hesitated, knowing that the inside of _this_ particular room was all but certainly useless... but maybe not the room it had blown into. Decided, Sabine peered out the door once again, looking for one of the patrols- finding none, she returned to the center of the room and moved further.

The blow leading into the room over had left the edges of the once solid wall jagged and splintered, metal warped and twisted and burnt by the force of her explosions. It looked as though the blast had largely been contained into the singular room she'd thrown it into, though- apart from a few minor damages to the furniture and ceiling, the second, invaded area was mostly intact. And free of a bucket-head presence- And, Sabine grinned when she noticed, formerly a part of an Imperial briefing room.

Complete with computer screens embedded into the circular central desk, just waiting for her to access them.

 _I guess luck_ does _work with us sometimes,_ Sabine mused, rushing over, taking off her helmet and tapping one of the screens expectantly. It activated after a second of delay, which sent Sabine grinning wider and feeling better about their situation than she had in a while. A secluded area close to an exit-point _with_ a working computer terminal was more than either she and Ezra had actually been hoping for- and it felt nice.

Once again, with a few taps of her fingers she was looking through the facility's scanners, and noticing that the lower floor was still on high lock-down. Morden would probably have it stay that way until he found Sabine and Ezra- though if their plan worked, it wouldn't really matter too much.

Still though, Sabine had to admire the fact that the lock-down procedure had been automatic- hardwired into the system of the factory itself, it was probably also programmed to shut down if it detected anyone trying to tamper with it from the outside. It meant the bucket-heads wouldn't have to focus on protecting the lower floors, and instead be allowed to work solely on getting the perpetrators _out_ of the facility. Afterwards, when they'd cleaned up everything, attention could be drawn back to-

"What about in here?"

Sabine started at the sudden shout of an Imperial voice, and her heart hammered harder when she realized it'd come from right outside the door of the briefing room. Sabine was scrambling for her helmet and jamming it on her head even as a stormtrooper outside responded, but even so was only _just_ able to make herself look like any other unassuming bucket-head before the un-damaged door slid open with a hiss.

 _Huttspit,_ Sabine's fingers itched to grab for her blaster- lying on the table just beside the panel -because it wasn't just a search-and-salvage squad. No, it was led by an officer- and even if the obviously Mandalorian armor garbed around him didn't give his identity away, Sabine knew how to read the Imperial rankings.

This man was none other than Commander Morden- and as his cold eyes swept across her, Sabine found herself wishing the _Ghost_ would show up sooner rather than later.

"What are you doing in here?" His voice was cold, too- cold, calculated, and strictly no-nonsense. "Where's your squad?" _Think fast-_

"My partner was injured by a falling girder- he had to be relieved, and his replacement hasn't come yet. Um, sir." Sabine crinkled her nose, not used to calling anyone superior to her but remembering when she had been and _not_ liking it. Still, her heart pounded in her throat as Morden snorted, looking back at the four stormtroopers behind him.

"Go help another team, your late _partner_ will find his way to work someway or another. Remember, if you find the rebels or any sign of them _immediately_ contact me- do _not_ engage. That's how you people keep on _losing._ Get to it." Morden stepped through the thresh-hold, his company of soldiers following close behind him. Sabine held herself perfectly still as the Commander walked past her and headed through the hole in the wall towards the other destroyed room. The soldier's armor clacked with each step, raising small clouds of ash as they went, and Sabine was breathing so hard it fogged her visor briefly with each outtake.

The clacking stopped. The stormtroopers were right beside her, Morden behind and looking over her shoulder at what Sabine realized too late to be the still active console and the facility's sensors-

Morden snapped his eyes up to her visor, and Sabine inched her hand slowly over to the blaster-

"Aren't you a little... short, for a stormtrooper?"

Sabine's hand darted forwards like a snake, grabbing her blaster and vaulting over the table as the room exploded with blaster-fire.


	25. Impeccable Timing

**At last, the long-awaited battle scene begins! Sort of... kind of. In a bit. Glad so many of you like the ANH reference in the last chapter- hope you like this one just as well! 0w0**

 **Also, good news! Thanksgiving Break is coming up, so updates will be faster for a week or so! Yay!**

 **Disclaimer: I legit nearly had a heart attack when I realized it was the one-month mark until Star Wars VII. Do you think Disney's freaking out like that? ...Well, probably yeah, but not for the same reasons, 'cuz they actually own it. T^T**

* * *

Ezra grunted, lifting himself from the vertical shaft and crawling forwards. _That should do it- after having_ transversed that particular junction, he should now be on the fourth floor. He should know- he was rather acutely observing his surroundings, repetitive as they were, to keep on the look-out for any other trap-doors or other various traps Morden might have installed. He wasn't going through _that_ again.

 _Alright Sabine- where are you?_ Ezra knew about the holes she'd blown in the walls, since they'd gone over her making _those_ in the original plan. He'd figured she'd camp out near one of those, to allow for the easiest getaway- that meant he'd really only have to patrol on the outside edges of the tower.

Well, it didn't narrow it down by much, but it still narrowed it down.

 _Alright_ _\- I got the general area, now I need the specific location._ Which, honestly, was a bit more effort.

The vents weren't the safest place to be in, right now. Morden had his stormtroopers checking the ventilation shafts, popping their heads in at random intervals to try and spot him. He'd only very nearly escaped one such detection- the bucket-heads had been unscrewing a panel directly in front of him, and it'd only been thanks to some quick changes to his travel route that he hadn't been caught right then and there. Ezra'd been wary of the stormtroopers and their checks, re-routing his path whenever he'd ventured upon a large group of them traveling together.

Even though his surroundings were no longer as safe as they had been beforehand, if Ezra was going to find Sabine without confiscating a stormtrooper helmet, he'd need to focus in the Force to find her signature. While it was nowhere near as familiar to him as Kanan's was, he'd been around Sabine and knew her well enough to pick out her distinct life-force from the masses of dull, bland ones.

Honestly, that was just how Sabine _was_.

But pinpointing such an unfamiliar signature meant taking a moment or two to concentrate and let down his guard- an activity that was _not_ recommended in enemy territory. Especially in conditions like these- but that was why Ezra'd stopped where he was, right next to the vertical shoot. After all, there weren't too many stormtroopers that would be able to unscrew a ventilation pane embedded in the actual structure of the building itself- which this junction _was_. No matter what Kanan or Zeb teased him teased him with, he _did_ take into consideration his surroundings.

Breathing out gently, Ezra closed his eyes and let his muscles relax, lying on the metal material and trying not to envision himself in an enclosed metal box- instead, the wide-open plains of Lothal. He found he could best concentrate when he pictured that specific scenery around him, and it _did_ help him get into a state of meditation.

 _Focus_ , he could hear the beginning words of _all_ of Kanan's teachings, _just focus on the Force_. There was the life-signatures of all the people on the floor below him... each a light in the void of nothingness, a candle. A speck of life. Ezra relaxed further, broadening his senses... the number of specks grew, lighting the darkness dot by dot, gradually filling the blank spaces left there. _I wonder if it ever gets completely lit up..._ _That_ would be a sight to behold, indeed.

 _Which one feels like Sabine?_

This was the part that got Ezra- taking each individual dot, all the little specks of light illuminating his realm of awareness, and sifting through them until he found one that he knew. Well, it was a bit easier than that- it was like... going through grains of sand, waiting until he found one that was hot. Or cold. Either way, Sabine and the members of the _Ghost_ crews all had their own... _feel_ to them, and with Kanan's help he'd been able to gradually grow more and more familiar with those feels, to the point where just being in their presence brought a measure of calm to him. They were... _home_.

And Sabine- well. She stood out even from the _G_ _host_ crew. Ezra had yet to encounter a single being with her same exuberance and energy and... _life_.

Dull... dull... dull... dull...

There.

Ezra pulled onto that one flare of energy, of life and of _Sabine_ , letting the other life-signatures fade out from his awareness. She... wasn't too far away, just...

Blue eyes opened abruptly, sharpening and focusing as he was instantly pulled from his meditation by the sudden introduction of _pain_. It only took a millisecond of assessment to conclude that it wasn't his- which, honestly, was more worrisome that if it would've been. Because that meant Sabine had been found, and that she was fighting-

And that that fight was going badly.

* * *

Sabine cried out, moving quickly behind the wall and granting herself a brief moment of reprieve in which to assess- well, there wasn't much to _assess_ really, she knew it was non-lethal but hampering -the blaster-bolt the lucky bucket-head had managed to land on her right thigh. The stormtrooper armor took in a little of the pain- it _really_ wasn't that efficient -but her secondary under-armor had been able to absorb most of the energy. The thing was, blaster bolts still had a lot of force behind them, and just the speed at which it'd hit her was enough to most likely bruise bone.

She gave herself one second to regroup- and then she flung herself out behind the wall, rolling on the ground, using her left leg as a cushion instead of the right, and was able to take out the one remaining stormtrooper in the room.

Of course, there was still Morden.

Her first shot in the fight had been to the door controls- no other back-up would be coming through there, especially not if Sabine still wanted to escape _alive_ with Ezra. Her secondary shot had been towards Morden's communicator, which he'd taken out with one hand even as he'd operated his blaster in the other. After that, there really hadn't been much of a choice for her targets- it was running, moving, and dodging all the blaster fire, shooting whenever she possibly could at _whatever_ target presented itself.

"I must congratulate you on getting this far, _rebel_ ," Morden spoke, firing a bolt that forced Sabine to spring away from her position and take cover behind one of the piles of fallen ceiling. "Especially on your ingenuity for taking one of my own men's disguises."

 _He's trying to distract me- keep focused on the fight._ Morden was still in the center of the adjoined, less destroyed room, in the middle of the desk Sabine had been using earlier. He pretty much had a view of the of both of the rooms, and cover from whatever angle Sabine tried to hit him with- he was a smart man, and those were the hardest to fight against.

"Considering your fighting skills and the fact you hacked into my facility's scanners-" Sabine leaned out from behind cover and took a shot, ducking back as Morden returned fire, "you are _not_ in fact the Bridger boy- meaning you are the Mandalorain cadet that defected from her proper place so long ago."

Sabine narrowed her eyes. "The fact that it has to be called my proper place only highlights the fact that it is _not_ -" Sabine called out, springing out from behind the pile of broken girders and ventilation and rolling once more, seeking refuge against the wall opposite the one she'd ducked behind before and taking a wild shot at Morden, "-and even if it didn't the Empire is _no_ place for a Mandalorian." Sabine hissed, keeping her voice steady but cradling her abdomen out of view from the commander. He already knew her leg was hurting- he didn't need to know she had a separate major injury as well. _That_ would be a game-changer... in the worst of ways.

"Why? Because they hold more power in their grasp than all of our planet combined? I recognize power when I see it- and it doesn't take a genius to know that following the source of power keeps it in _your_ grasp."

"Ha! So you'd rather lie over on your back like some trained _dog_ instead of standing proud like a _fighter_?!"

"I'd rather do what I need to ensure power remains in _my_ hands, so I can use it to eradicate those who stand in my way."

"You mean in the _Empire's_ way."

"No-" Morden rounded the corner, and Sabine cursed as she realized he'd kept talking to distract her _just like she'd warned herself not to fall for_ "in _my_ way, like you are now."

Sabine kicked her left leg high and out to the side, ducking simultaneously as Morden fired his blaster. He grabbed her foot just before it collided with his side- and Sabine used his grasp as a springboard, jumping off the ground with her right leg and rebounding off of him with her left, to send her flying backwards further into the destroyed room while _also_ providing another opportunity to fire the blaster at him.

The stunt was fancy, and landed her behind the same pile of junk she'd been using as cover before, but it was costly. Both her leg and stomach throbbed, simultaneously winding her and forcing her to curl up on herself. The maneuver might have saved her life, but it had most definitely left it's mark afterwards.

"You are injured, rebel. If you know what's good for you, you should surrender now." Sabine grit her teeth, listening for footsteps. He was literally only a few feet away from her poor pile of cover, but even he- no, _especially_ -knew not to engage an injured and cornered Mandalorian unless they had absolutely no weapons.

"If you haven't figured it out already, I'm sticking with the _true_ Mandalorian code- I'll never surrender to someone beneath me." Sabine gripped her blaster tightly, preparing to leap out of cover and fire once more as soon as her abdomen stopped pulling the rest of her muscles into a tight knot.

"Is that your final choice?" Morden asked, and Sabine heard the tightening of his blaster. She narrowed her eyes.

"It's the _only_ choice. I'll never give up fighting against the Empire as long as I have people to fight for." Sabine raised her blaster, distributing her weight evenly across her toes and readied herself to launch straight over the junk pile to shoot once more at Morden. He snorted, and Sabine twisted so as to get her angle right-

"Then you'll die for them." Sabine leapt and Morden fired his blaster at the same time- but the bolt didn't hit _her_. It did worse than that- it hit the pile of junk she'd previously been hiding behind. If she'd stayed where she had been, nothing would have happened except a few pieces would have hit her armor and she'd be exposed. Since she'd turned around, however, the shrapnel and ventilation and odd pieces that'd fallen from the ceiling exploded in every direction-

And absolutely _nailed_ her exposed abdomen.

Sabine screamed, falling onto her back as her legs gave out, and she curled protectively around herself. She could feel the cauterized and treated wound opening up and bleeding again, and bruises were already forming around the entirety of her stomach. Her lungs couldn't seem to get enough air into them at once, and the double-layering of the armor didn't help- it certainly hadn't with the chunks of metal. Blaster fire was one thing, it was nothing more but energy- solid parts of the ceiling weren't.

"I told you you should have given up while you could," Morden stated, walking the few feet over next to her and towering above her. Sabine's blaster was on the ground behind her- and she wasn't moving anytime soon. "Because now, I'm obligated to go by my word and kill you." Sabine pried open her eyes to glare at Morden, and the gun he was holding over her head.

"You would have made a fine Imperial, had you not defected," he said, and Sabine was content to let her glare speak for her. "That's why I gave you a chance, you know- but I guess your pride is more important to you than your life. Typical Mandalorian stubbornness."

Sabine looked away from Morden, sickened that she'd been defeated by him, hating herself for letting her injuries land her in this state. Never before had she been so humiliated and beaten, and now she was about to pay for it. After all, Mandalorians didn't often take prisoners.

"Goodbye, Ms. Wren."

She heard the squeeze Morden's glove made against the trigger as he tightened his grip-

"NO!"

And then Ezra was there, bursting from the ceiling and the blown ventilation shaft in a blue blur, his lightsaber flashing through the air even before he landed, deflecting the now dozens of blaster bolts that Morden was aiming at him.

Sabine reacted- she forced her hands under her and pushed off of them, propelling her to roll the opposite way across the floor to pick up her blaster and roll away from the scatterings of junk that Morden had blasted around her. Her everything protested, and she had to cringe and curl further in onto herself as she felt the blood oozing out with its' own slice of pain, but she was now in a crouching position with a weapon in hand as opposed to lying on the floor defenseless, so she could care less about the pain it caused. That and, of course, she was still _alive_ and able to feel it.

 _Always impeccable timing, this one._


	26. Catch

**Ha ha, I LOVE having break-time... -v-**

 **To DWITD0421: Since I can't respond via PM, I'mma just say it here- imagine the same conference room we see in the Death Star in ANH, but with a huge hole blown into the side leading into another similar-sized room. That's pretty much the scale I was thinking this scene is; with that size in mind, the number of rolls Sabine makes doesn't get TOO ridiculous. Thank you for your feedback! :D**

 **Disclaimer: Nah man, I work on Rebels because I want to, and 'cuz it's a nice way to spend free-time. If I was actually in charge of his shizzle? I'd get overwhelmed within the month, lemme tell ya.**

 **(I still really want it though.)**

* * *

Ezra hadn't ever been so scared in his entire life than in that moment he saw Morden holding his blaster over a defenseless Sabine. Not when he'd had to face the Inquisitor alone at the Stygeon base, or the asteroid, not when he'd nearly fallen off the _Ghost_ or his tower; it might be an exact duplicate of how scared he was when stormtroopers had come and invaded his home- when he himself was in no physical danger, but about to witness the end of his friend.

Blood pounded through his veins and made his heart hammer in his throat, his arms guided by nothing more than a blend of fear and the Force as Morden continued to fire lethal streams of energy at him- just as long as he never saw those same streams directed at a defenseless Sabine, he was fine.

"We meet again Bridger boy," Morden shouted over the whines of his blaster, "and I trust you won't be throwing anymore explosives?!"

Ezra hopped backwards, through a large hole in the wall and in the center of what looked to be a conference desk. His initial burst of fear and focus was dispersing now that Sabine was out of danger- well... _relatively_ -steadily leaving him with just the thoughts and sensations that he _was_ , in fact, only kept from death by the frantic swinging of his blade. He hadn't really been extensively trained in that area yet, and even now as he became more actively aware of it, Ezra felt fear stiffening his movements instead of smoothing them like before.

Morden followed him in- good, that was good, away from the recovering Sabine- _Aaaaaand straight towards me._ Oh, shoot, that might've been the Imperial's plan; to push him away from Sabine so _he_ had no back-up or room to maneuver.

 _Might want to start thinking instead of just acting, especially with this guy._ He had to focus on putting his fear in the back of his mind- no, like Kanan said, to realize it and suppress it or something like that. ...Okay yeah just for now he'd try to push it away just so it wouldn't interfere with his fighting skills or-

"Sabine NO-" Too late; the Mandalorian was up on her feet, raising her blaster up and firing near continuously at Morden, forcing him to duck out to the side to take refuge behind the little bit of wall that wasn't blown out between them. Taking advantage of the momentary absence of suppressing fire, Ezra darted out from in the desk, deflecting the few shots Morden was able to take at his retreating figure as he rejoined Sabine in the other room.

"Are you-"

"If you ask me if I'm okay I _swear_ -"

"I was going to ask if you were _crazy_ ," Ezra emphasized his words by poking back through the hole in the wall and firing a few shots at the commander, "because you are _definitely not_ okay!"

Sabine was clutching her stomach with her entire left arm, and considering there wasn't a whole lot that could force her to her knees like Ezra'd seen from above, he knew she was in a considerable about of pain. Her abdomen was probably opening up and bleeding once again, if not by whatever Morden had done then as a result of her fighting.

He could feel the look she was giving him under her helmet. "I'm not going to sit back and let you do all the fighting."

"Who said I was saying _that_?" Much as Ezra was loathe to admit, once Sabine had made up her mind she wasn't likely to change it without serious effort- and even injured, she was still a formidable ally. He'd just need to make sure she didn't do anything that'd hurt her more than she was already.

Morden burst around the corner, strafing the gap in the walls and firing deadly energy at the both of them. Sabine ducked and rolled, while Ezra was quick to pull his lightsaber up once again and deflect the shots that went his way- and to _sort of_ direct them back to Morden. Once again, still learning- but getting better.

"You do realize how shoddy your plans are, do you not?" Morden taunted from the other room, and Sabine tensed, on high alert. Ezra spared a quick raise of an eyebrow in her direction before calling out;

"Oh yeah, like you would know anything about our plans."

"He talks to take you off your guard," Sabine whispered, edging closer to Ezra to stop Morden from hearing her, "it's how he got me. He starts talking usually right before-"

Once again, the Imperial commander reappeared in the hole, this time brandishing two blasters- he must've taken one off the multiple unconscious stormtroopers Ezra'd noticed in there beforehand.

"Before that happens?!" Ezra finished, rolling and returning fire instead of lying to himself and saying he could deflect all of those bolts.

"Before that happens!" Sabine agreed, quickly backtracking and laying down more fire herself. Morden once again retreated behind the edge of where Sabine's miracles had destroyed the wall. Ezra realized he was breathing hard, panting- so was Sabine, though she was worrying him with how tight her arm appeared to be clutching her stomach. The both of them wouldn't last much longer alone against Morden, combat abilities or no.

Ezra strafed the wall like the commander had earlier, quickly spotting him and firing a few rounds before ducking back into cover on Sabine's side. Call him worrisome, but he felt more at ease by her side.

"Any other interesting tid-bits?" Ezra asked, peeking through the gap and narrowing his eyes at where he knew Morden to be.

"Clever, plans ahead, knows how to distract, and pretty much can counter any acrobatic move I throw at him." Ezra's eyes widened and he blinked rapidly. He knew this guy was a Mandalorian, but _sheesh_... Sabine knew a _lot_ of acrobatic stuff. A _lot_. "You?" She prompted, firing a few bolts around the corner herself, just to buy them a little time.

Ezra racked his brains, stretching them to remember his first brief encounter with the commander- he realized with a jolt of surprise it'd only been days ago. It felt much, _much_ longer than days.

"Um, well, pretty much what you said- he's got a killer kick, and probably other, uh, fighting moves and things..." _Think, think! What else was there?!_

"Oh!" Of course, it was right as Ezra remembered that Morden actually chose to bring out the one such device he'd just pulled back into memory.

"Yeah, he also kind of has a shield," Ezra pointed out, gesturing to the glowing blue apparatus and getting the horrible sense that things were about to go really, _really_ wrong.

* * *

It was the moment that Sabine saw and recognized the energy shield for what it was that she knew both she and Ezra were pretty much screwed.

The Mandalorian grabbed Ezra by the collar and dragged him with her to retreat further into the room the same time Morden started firing one of his blasters- the shield was being projected by a wrist-device, a fact that Sabine observed in the single second she'd seen him. Naturally, of course, wielding such a device meant he'd have to lay one of the two blasters to rest, but it also meant Sabine knew what they were dealing with-

Which was why she had the feeling they were screwed.

"Energy shield," Sabine shouted over to Ezra, ducking behind him and wincing as Morden came around the bend, blaster firing rapidly and shield raised to absorb any of the blasts Ezra might have been able to deflect back at him. "Since it's portable," Sabine fired a few rounds, staying behind a frantically working Ezra for protection, "there's not a whole lot of power in it- overload it with enough returning fire and it'll have to recharge!"

Sabine used to work with the shields in the past, until she'd realized they hampered her style. Before then however, she'd been quite the expert on the different types and brands there were- naturally.

Unfortunately, while the solution to their _newest_ hitch in the plan seemed simple enough, those shields _did_ take a while to burn out- and it had to be a near continuous stream of fire to take them out. Sabine had only ever experienced her shield going out on _her_ once, while being subjected to the fire of a rapid repeater gun.

Ezra took the information in stride- well, she _thought_ he did, anyways, because he seemed to be making a conscious effort to redirect Morden's suppressing fire back at the shield. Sabine knew his training wouldn't be too complete though, and even with her firing from behind him she knew it wouldn't be enough. The both of them would need to fire their weapons simultaneously at the commander's shield to even _hope_ of making an impact. In order for that to happen, Ezra would need his lightsaber in _blaster_ mode, which would mean Morden would have to stop firing at _him_ and instead focus on-

Sabine rolled away from the safety behind Ezra's lightsaber, gasping at the amount of protest her insides were able to give and the sensation of blood trickling down her stomach. _It's not too serious yet; I can keep on fighting; it'll be treated when this is all over-_

 _I'm not going to be a liability. Not when our lives are at stake._

Ezra shouted as Sabine left, no doubt coming to the same conclusion she had as she rolled behind one of the various scraps of bits and pieces that used to form furniture. No doubt he wanted to keep her safe- a sentiment Sabine shared, actually, but for the here and now Sabine didn't really care if she was endangering herself or not. She'd do whatever was necessary to keep both herself and Ezra alive. A little pain was nothing compared to losing someone you loved.

But the blaster-fire didn't switch over to her, like Sabine planned for. Morden was leaving her completely alone- his fire was still focusing on Ezra, and he wasn't giving the Spectre a chance to switch his weapon over.

Sabine raised the blaster in her hands and spit out a stream of plasma, hoping to at least make Morden shift his shield over so Ezra would have a better chance of getting him back- but the commander just stood there, crouching low behind the blue wall of energy and keeping it at an angle which held back both of their fire. He'd no doubt come to the conclusion that Sabine knew how to deal with his shield, and so he was most likely going to do everything in his power to keep Ezra from firing the blaster portion of his weapon. She kept up her string of fire, hoping to at least change the situation somehow-

 _Dejarik, think Dejarik._ When going up against Kanan the first few times, she'd always gone with the same tactic, the one she'd thought was best. Of course it'd worked... for a while, until the Jedi had figured out how she played and then adapted to combat it. Sabine had gone through quite a few losses before she'd realized, just like when she'd worked with energy shields in the past, her victories were being hampered by how she played. She had to plan out moves in advance, yes, but be able to adapt those plans to the moves that her opponent threw at her-

 _Okay, Morden, if you won't move your shield when I want you to, I guess I'll just have to make you._ Flanking maneuvers. He wouldn't very well leave his back exposed if she went around there- if she just went away from her cover long enough to force him to change his angle, Ezra would be able to start firing, and Sabine could duck back behind cover and shoot with him. Morden wouldn't have enough time to get his aim at Ezra back, and by the time the Spectre started firing he wouldn't be able to properly aim his weapon without being hit by either herself or Ezra.

There- a nice, solid plan, and all it _really_ needed Sabine to do was strafe out of cover and back again. Well, and for Ezra to react quick enough, but she had faith he would.

Sabine inhaled quickly and deeply, steeling her stomach just before jumping up and darting to her right, heading towards the destroyed wall and aiming for the Mandalorian's side, just to get his attention. She saw Morden narrow his eyes at her movement, she caught the way he shifted the blue wall of energy in her direction _just_ a little, trying to protect himself from both sides with as little movement as possible-

 _Not today, mister,_ Sabine thought, lowering her blaster and preparing to dart. The commander now doubt noticed her cease firing, and so was fully aware when Sabine actually _charged_ at him. The maneuver caught him off-guard, and as an impulse reaction he brought his blaster around to face her-

Only to see Sabine already darting backwards to cover, her objective completed.

Ezra rapidly switched his lightsaber off in favor of his blaster, and had started firing at Morden the same time Sabine had retreated back to the sparse cover she had. The Imperial snarled, but the damage was already done- he was forced to keep his shield directed at Ezra if he wanted to avoid _that_ set of blaster fire. Sabine allowed herself to grin, as well as a moment to recover. She really wasn't doing herself any favors here-

 _That's for later, when this is all over- keep on fighting, keep on fighting, don't get yourself killed, don't get Ezra killed,_ Sabine popped her head and blaster up, glad the helmet kept Morden from seeing her grimace of pain as she laid down her own stream of plasma at the blue shield. The combined forces of both her and Ezra firing on the device kept the commander from aiming back at either one, and Sabine felt a momentary victory sweep through her as tints of light yellow started blending in with the blue of the shield-

Morden poked his gun upwards, over the top of his shield. It wasn't aimed at either one of them, since he _couldn't_ aim at either one of them, instead, the ceiling?

 _Why would he-_

The Mandalorian fired up at the ceiling, over Ezra, and there was a single moment where everyone focused completely on the energy disrupted across the blackened material. Then it cracked, and Ezra reacted- he jumped backwards, into the warped and twisted corner of the room, his eyes flashing wide just moments before Morden fired again in the same area-

"Catch!" Ezra lobbed his lightsaber through the air just moments before the ceiling collapsed in front of him.

Sabine's heart-rate went through the roof, her free hand darting up to catch the flying weapon purely through her reflexes. _He's under there he's under there he's under there-_

 _FIGHT_.

Both hands flew up and her fingers tightened on both of the weapons' triggers, sending parallel streams of red and blue energy streaking towards Morden, who only just got his shield to face her in time to block the both of them. From the look on his face, he hadn't been expecting Ezra to throw his weapon to Sabine- neither had she. A lightsaber was as important to a Jedi as their life, she'd heard Kanan telling Ezra more than once; the fact that he'd just up and given it- _thrown it_ at her was as unexpected as it was unorthodox.

And also a brilliant move that was slowly turning Morden's shield yellow.

 _Don't you dare be dead don't you dare be dead-_ How much of the ceiling had fallen? Was he directly under the debris? Did he need her help?!

 _Focus focus focus- he jumped backwards reflexively; that might mean he knew the ceiling was about to fall and just moved to a safer place- Sabine edged her way out from the pile of wrecked debris, standing up slowly and keeping the lines of fire constant as she slowly moved over towards Ezra's corner._

The stormtrooper gun in her right hand started to heat up. At first she thought nothing of it- but she was wearing _two_ layers of armor and still feeling it. The second she came to that conclusion the gun spluttered and gave out, having over-heated. Sabine threw it at Morden, taking in satisfaction in how the Mandalorian flinched as it hit his shield. She kept the pressure on Ezra's gun, the Kyber crystal powering it inside ensuring that it wouldn't run out of ammo or overheat.

The rate Morden's shield was turning yellow slowed, but it didn't matter- Sabine kept firing, watching as Morden took first one step back, then another, and finally stumbled backwards as his shield turned a full sickly yellow and died down. He dived back into the undamaged conference room, to the right and behind the wall. Sabine kept firing in his general area; until she was distracted by the terminal she'd activated just a few minutes ago.

It was flashing red-

The _Ghost_ crew had finally arrived.


	27. Falling

**Happy Thanksgiving all! I hope you have a wonderful holiday (or a lovely day if you're reading this afterwards), and in traditional spirit of thanksgiving, give to you the latest installment of this emotional rollercoaster. Enjoy!**

 **Oh DWITD0421, you know me so well- and I do have a feeling I'll be needing to call on you expertise in a bit. Thank you!**

 **Disclaimer: I wish I wish upon a Death Star that ownership of Star Wars comes to me from afar- but until that merry, joyous day arrives, it's time to go down into a corner, sit down, and cry.**

 **(So poetic, I know -u-)**

* * *

 _Lightsaber-_ that was with Sabine now, and Ezra could hear she was putting it to good use. _Limbs-_ mostly there... okay, he could feel them all, just a little pain pulling at his movements; his healed ribs were giving off phantom aches. _Head-_ yeah, that might be the more troublesome part. The fact he even needed a checklist to check himself over attributed to _that_. Otherwise, Ezra was completely fine-

And still stuck behind a wall of rubble.

 _It's fine, it's fine, I'll just cut-_ no lightsaber. _Okay, different tactic then- no lightsaber, no problem._ Though it would make getting unburied a lot easier if he actually had it with him...

 _Focus._ Ezra opened his eyes, squinting through the layer of ash and dust was in the air, released by the ceiling falling atop him. No- not on top of him, just... _around_ him. Ezra cast his gaze up and around slowly, filtering in the sounds of guns firing beyond the rubble and using it as a fuel to get himself kicked into gear- but he still needed to assess his surroundings before he started digging himself out. If he pulled at a wrong piece, the huge slab of thick ceiling suspended above him might _actually_ come down and squish him.

His torso was wedged between two solid-looking chunks- probably pieces that had already been loosened from the original blast that had torn the room apart. They weren't pressing hard enough against him to form repercussions, but by the time they were all done with this Ezra knew he'd have some _nasty_ bruises. But he could see those two chunks were supporting the huge slab of ceiling that would have otherwise crushed him flat- even with their help, however, he was very lucky it still hadn't crushed his legs or feet. The only things down _there_ were small, insignificant pieces of rubble that wouldn't have ever stood a chance against the ceiling.

Ezra wiggled a bit, testing the stability of his environment. Nothing noticeably moved, so he tried to shimmy away from the walls and corner which he'd pressed himself up against before. Spurred on by the sounds of Sabine shooting rapid-fire, Ezra scrunched himself into a tight ball- and had to stop himself there, pressing his hands up to his temples and only moderately surprised to find blood at the top of his skull. His head was pounding with ache, and he was unpleasantly reminded of the several explosions he'd had to go through in the past week alone. This little experience was _much_ milder, but it still hurt.

The pitch of the whine Sabine's blasters were making changed, and Ezra picked out that her double-blasters had gone down to one. That wasn't good news- there was still Morden's shield they had to worry about, right? Ezra groaned, opening his eyes from where he'd screwed them shut and trying to resume wiggling his way out of the rubble.

The slab of ceiling had fallen and landed at an angle, originally high above his head and sloping closer to the ground near his feet. All he really had to do was crawl his way to the edge of the slab and slither out from underneath it- Ezra hurried, pressing himself to move quickly and allowing the sound of Sabine fighting to spur him on.

His foot breached the edge, and Ezra groaned once more as he pulled himself closer towards the opening. The _Ghost_ had better come soon, because Ezra _really_ wanted to just _relax_ in a _safe_ environment; he wanted to catch a freaking _break._ He and Sabine deserved that much, at least.

Ezra's eyes widened, and his focus sharpened- _he could feel Kanan._

Relief washed through him, and he figured he could wait a little longer before gripping as he heaved himself the rest of the way out from under the rubble. Light made his eyes squint and water slightly, adding on to the headache already grinding through his head.

Sabine was firing his lightsaber in short sporadic bursts, and Ezra could only assume her other blaster had fizzed out- he felt a small moment of pride at the craftsmanship of his weapon. Pride that was quickly shifted over to Sabine as well- Morden's blue shield was down, and he was back to staying in the conference room as his cover.

"Sabine!" Ezra called out, and the Mandalorian swiveled her head to face him for a brief second before Morden popped out of cover again. Ezra ducked back closer against the pile of rubble, out of his sight, as Sabine fired a few more rounds at the commander. Ezra was just getting ready to dart over to the side of the wall, ignoring any repercussions it might have on his headache _and_ the fact he didn't have a weapon with which to help, when Sabine peeled off her bucket helmet and threw it at him.

"They're coming!" Was all she said, gaze focused only on Morden and his hiding place. Ezra looked down at the helmet, confused for a second, before he nodded and moved further out of the range of battle. The _G_ _host_ would know to look for them, but not where, or that there was a virus in the anti-air guns, _or_ that the huge ticking explosives center could wipe out the entire factory- with both Sabine and Ezra's comms busted, the only hope they had of communicating with their crew was through the tower. Since Morden wasn't about to let them go so easily, and victory was in no way forthcoming, a rewired stormtrooper helmet would have to do.

Ezra reached into the inside and pried off the padding, fingers flying directly towards the communications unit installed in every stormtrooper helmet. It was _much_ easier to rewire them when they were outside the helmet; Ezra still had a few of his tools on his person, and the travel bag he'd packed a life-time ago. It was lying flat on his back now, looking deflated with only his few tools, a protein bar, and a couple bandages. Quickly stretching a hand backwards to reach into a bag for a specific one, Ezra eyed the circuitry and coding making up the unit, pinpointing the console he'd need to access in order to input the _Ghost_ 's signature.

 _Come on,_ Ezra silently prayed, fiddling with the gadgetry, _come find us._

* * *

"I've got 'em!" Both Kanan and Hera shot their heads up from the Dejarik board, eyes locking on the energetic Lasat, clutching a data-pad like the very secrets of the universe were stored within it.

"What do you mean?" Hera asked sharply, beckoning Zeb over to transfer the file he'd found on his device to the Dejarik board for all of them to view. He complied quickly, and Kanan looked over at the captain, daring to hope that they might actually have a chance to pick up their missing crew members.

"On the news- that factory we attacked a few days ago was just hit again, with enough explosives to take out one of the floors," A hologram of said facility was projected atop the Dejarik board, and Chopper whirred as the sight of an entire section of the tower smoking from an explosion lit their previously darkened commons room. "I don't think there are too many other vigilantes out there with access to bombs like Sabine's, _and_ who'd go after-"

"The same floor Ezra was in!" Kanan finished, eyes darting over the hologram and taking in all the evidence. "They must be trying to get our attention- do you think their comms are down?" He asked to no one in particular, just throwing an idea out there as multiple began forming in his head.

Hera nodded quickly, scanning the actual data-pad for the article for more information and details. "Most probably- but this isn't saying anything about them being caught."

"Then they're still in the facility," Kanan jumped out of the bench, followed without a second of delay by Hera, her leku swinging vigorously with her sharp movements. She began issuing orders even as Kanan was running to the cargo-bay, already knowing their plan of attack.

"Chopper, man the dorsal guns and fire at any Imperial you see- Zeb go with Kanan and get ready to go into that factory and get our crew back!" She darted away to the cockpit, Zeb's thunderous footsteps drowning her own out as he followed Kanan down into the cargo-bay. Hera burst through the door to he cockpit, flinging herself into the pilot's seat and pulling up the coordinates of the factory into the navigation system. It wasn't too far- the _Ghost_ had been camping near Jhothal in the hopes that Ezra and Sabine had been hiding in there, and the tower was relatively close to it.

She turned on the engines, prepping the shields and turrets for the inevitable battle. They still hadn't made all the repairs they needed to after their failed attack, but this was likely the best chance they'd ever get at picking up Ezra and Sabine with a definite knowledge on their location.

Well. They didn't have a _definite_ lead on their position... but it was the best one they had, and even if Ezra and Sabine weren't there, there would still be someone at the tower, willing to stand up to the Empire and in need of their help.

"Everybody ready?" She called through the intership comms, already shooting through the air and keeping an eye on the tower's coordinates in relation to their own position. A smattering of affirmatives, Binary and Basic, filtered through in response, and Hera narrowed her eyes in grim anticipation. Commander Morden, from her intel, was _not_ a man to be trifled with, and if she knew people of his character, he would have come up with a back-up plan in case the _Ghost_ came back. The next few minutes would be grueling, she could tell-

But this was their family, and no one messed with their family.

Her fears and determination were shared by the two other organic Spectres on the ship- but neither Zeb or Kanan had been resting easy with the knowledge that Ezra and Sabine both had been in active danger and hostile surroundings. Besides, even if they hadn't the _Ghost_ crew looked out for their own. Both Jedi and Lasat leaned themselves against the walls of the cargo-bay, swaying slightly with the speed that Hera was flying the ship, and preparing themselves to leap into what would no doubt be an intense battle. Kanan could only hope they'd get through it without injuries to anyone.

The tower came into sight from the viewport, and Hera alerted the boys thusly. She could still see the smoke drifting through the wind from where Sabine- presumably -had blown the floor up, and found her gaze drifting downwards to the surprisingly still grounds surrounding the base.

 _There should be stormtroopers crawling all over this place, especially if Ezra and Sabine are out there trying to get us- unless..._ Unless they were still in the tower, being held up by some unforeseen delay.

"We're coming up on the tower now boys," Hera warned through the comms, keeping her eyes trained on the still inactive anti-air guns, "but you might have to go through the tower itself- I can't see any sign of Ezra _or_ Sabine." And that girl _always_ left signs.

" _You'll probably have to drop us off-_ " Kanan's suggestion was cut off by the beeping tones of the communication's panel, and Hera stared at the offending device for a second before hurriedly pressing to respond.

"- _ctre six to_ Ghost _, can you hear me?!_ "

" _Ezra?!_ " All four Sprectres cried out incredulously, the teenager's transmitions having been carried through the entire ship by the internal comm system.

" _Oh thank the Force I got you-_ " Hera could hear the distant sounds of blaster fire filtering through, and she got worried. " _-there's been a few problems that've popped up. Actually a lot. Well, not really a whole lot, they're just big-_ "

" _Ezra what's happening over there?_ " Kanan cut the kid off before he could ramble his way off-topic.

" _We're in the destroyed floor,"_ that explained the lack of troopers on the ground, " _near one of the holes Sabine blew into the side- but we're kinda fighting Commander Morden too._ " Hera was already prepared for the outburst that followed from the cargo-bay, and was quick to cut it off with a clear question.

"Are you in a position that we can come and get you out of there?!" That was the most important part, after all- getting everyone out and to safety before everything inevitably went wrong.

" _Um- well, physically yes, but,_ "

" _But what?_ " Zeb growled; Hera could hear the nervous tones hidden within it. Ezra took a deep breath over on the other line, and then began to speak rather quickly.

" _There's a huge explosive manufacturing-storing area underneath the tower and Sabine's bombs are in there and if she blows them it can take out the entire facility but we need to be inside the tower to blow them because it's blocked otherwise."_ Hera blinked, closing her eyes for a full two seconds as she processed everything Ezra had just relayed to them. The explosives- that hadn't been in any of Fulcrum's plans or blueprints of the area, but the Empire could easily have kept it secret, especially if Commander Morden had been in charge. That it was pretty much guarded by an entire manufacturing plant above it, Hera could deduce it was rather large- and could indeed take out the entire station. It was too good of an opportunity to miss- though it would take some tricky work.

" _Ezra what-_ "

"I'll get into position based on your comm signal's location, then you tell me _the exact second_ Sabine blows her charges and _the exact second_ you are both safely onboard afterwards. We won't be able to stay here for too long with the anti-air guns-"

" _You don't have to worry about those anymore,_ " Ezra quickly added, and Hera just rolled with it, trusting the teen to know what he was talking about.

"In that case just get into position as soon as you can- we'll be waiting for you."

" _Uh, we'll try._ "

Silence was his only answer, as Kanan and Zeb no doubt took in the gravity of the situation being described to them. Surprisingly it was Chopper that responded, whirring and bleeping a few lines of binary that actually sounded like he was telling Ezra to be _careful._ Hera's eyebrows raised in surprise at the astromech's warning, but figured it was appropriate, even from him. If Ezra and Sabine were going up against Morden like he'd said, they'd _need_ to be careful. And very lucky.

* * *

Following Chopper's remark, Kanan stepped away from the side of the cargo-bay and readied his blaster. His face was set in a grim stance as he picked out blaster-fire through Ezra's communication, and he had to squash down the worry that'd come with the sounds. Ezra and Sabine both would be okay- they were both capable of taking care of themselves... but if Hera's report on this Morden guy was anything like the truth, so could he. But the best way he could- scratch that, the _only_ way he could act on his frustration and nerves was to center himself, and prepare to take out any pursuing stormtroopers behind the two Spectres as they came home.

The _Ghost_ turned, centrifugal force making both Kanan and Zeb sway, and they felt the vibrations of the dorsal turret in their feet. Chopper was firing on some bucket-heads then- they tightened their grips on their weapons, feeling the ship beneath them swing around near 180 degrees. The ramp hissed and lowered from it's position, exposing the tower and its destroyed floor before them.

Smoke was piling out of a large hole in the wall, and Kanan could just see through it if he squinted. "Troopers!" He yelled out to Zeb, seeing their distinct white armor through the smog, and the Lasat hefted up his bo-rifle and started firing wildly through the opening with a war cry. Kanan himself fired a few rounds off his blaster, but quickly found himself switching to his lightsaber as more and more stormtroopers came pouring through the halls behind.

 _Come on, where are you?!_

Almost as soon as he started getting nervous at the lack of the sight of either Ezra or Sabine, a flash of orange caught in his limited sight of the hall as Ezra came running from a different junction. It worried Kanan that the kid didn't appear to have his lightsaber, but that worry was momentarily assuaged by the sight of Sabine backing out of the same junction, dressed in stormtrooper garb and firing the distinct blue balls of stunning energy at some unseen threat. Why the Mandalorian had his Padawan's lightsaber Kanan had no idea, but he didn't question or complain as the both of them started running towards the open and extended ramp, Sabine keeping her weapon trained and firing at the group of stormtroopers as she backed through the hall.

"Sabine now!" Ezra shouted, and the Mandalorian tossed him his blade and ran behind him, shaking off her right bracer to reveal her wrist-comp underneath.

"Hera they're getting ready to blow the station!" Kanan called back, well-aware the Twi'lek had kept the ship comms on, but any response she might have made was drowned out by the blaster fire both in the hall in front of them and from Zeb's constant firing of his rifle. Kanan saw Sabine press a button on her device, right up on the edge of the hole she'd made-

And even as high up in the air as the _Ghost_ was, Kanan could still feel the vibration through the air as something _massive_ exploded beneath them. Sabine, Ezra, and the stormtroopers in the hall all got the brunt of the force though, and they all fell down even as huge fireballs engulfed the production bays underneath. Kanan widened his eyes as the tower seemed to sway before them, and he _knew_ \- it would be falling within seconds.

"Sabine, Ezra! Jump! NOW!" He shouted out, stomach roiling as the destruction below bellowed up and covered the bottom of the tower in flame. Huge tendrils of smoke wrapped around the _Ghost_ and the air around it, like giant tentacles of some monster curling around them, making Kanan's eyes sting and water- he heard coughing and a few blaster rounds go off on the other side. Kanan lowered his lightsaber and Zeb ceased his firing of his rifle- they couldn't see anything through the black smoke and orange glow of the fire below, and neither wanted to risk hitting Sabine or Ezra.

The tower groaned, and Kanan was just about to take a running leap to physically retrieve both teenagers before Sabine came leaping over, bursting through the smoke like some great angel of battle. She clattered onto the metal floor harshly, not able to stick her landing and rolling a good few feet before Zeb stopped her and hauled her up, the both of them coughing.

Parted by her passing, the smoke had cleared just enough for Kanan to look across and see Ezra running up to the tower edge, lightsaber clutched tightly in hand as he leapt-

Kanan's heart jumped in his throat as someone else skidded from the hall Ezra and Sabine had come from, dressed in what looked like Mandalorian garb mixed with Imperial, raising his blaster the same time Ezra jumped from the edge.

" _NO!_ " Sabine shouted, her cry of fear intermingling with Kanan's own as the Imperial fired his blaster, hitting Ezra square in the back and making the teen slip off of the ramp and plummet towards the fire below.


	28. Home

**-_- Sorry 'bout that wait... 'specially with the cliffie... apparently life likes to time itself to the _exact_ points I write the most drama in my fics. Such is the way the world turns, however...**

 **BUT HEY, ONLY 17 MORE DAYS TILL EPISODE SEVEN, AM I RIGHT?!**

 ** _*Ahem*_**

 **I mean... oh who am I kidding. WOO STAR WARS!**

 **Disclaimer: If not especially obvious in the above writing, I'm not... exactly... 100%... professional. Probably not even 50%... and it's only the pro's that make money.**

* * *

The tower was exploding. Ezra was falling.

Sabine was screaming.

She'd lost the capability to form coherent words the second Morden had appeared, and now she was just shouting and screaming and shooting-

Zeb had lost his stabilizing grip on her, enraged as he was by the Imperial officer, and Sabine had grabbed her blasters from underneath the stormtrooper armor, fingers incapable of doing anything more than tightening into fists around the blasters' grips as she blasted away at Morden, firing in rage and pain and terror-

Kanan had dove onto the open ramp, planting himself on the very edge even in the chaos that was the air around them, his hands outstretched and tensed, his body visibly shaking-

Morden was forced to duck back into the hallway as both Sabine and Zeb fired their weapons in a near constant stream, pouring their fears into every single shot even as the tower fell away from the _Ghost_.

 _No no no no no nonononono-_ The tower groaned and gained speed as it fell further and further away, and both Spectres ceased their firing as the hole containing Morden and the Imperials fell away. Sabine fell on the floor, unable to support herself any longer as Zeb rushed forwards to peer over the edge of the ship, his rifle thrown behind him in his haste.

 _Please- please Ezra you can't do this don't you_ DARE _do this-_ Kanan grunted, half a sound of pressure and half a warning to Zeb, who tensed next to him. _Please Ezra please_, Zeb crouched down and leaned forwards, extending his hand over the ramp and grabbing onto-

Sabine tried to push herself back up on her feet, but only managed to get half-way before her mid-riff gave out on her and forced her to her knees. Zeb's other hand reached out, grasping-

 _Don't do this to me..._

"I got 'im!" Zeb cried, and Kanan slumped down. Zeb lurched forwards for a moment, but began pulling himself upwards the same time Kanan reached down to grab onto and support-

 _Please don't_.

The Jedi and Lasat hoisted a limp Ezra up onto the ramp, immediately dragging the three of them further into the ship and closer to Sabine-

"Hera go!" Kanan shouted, and the ramp raised behind him, the _Ghost_ jerking into movement. Sabine scooted herself over to them, eyes trained on Ezra's un-opening ones. Kanan hovered for a moment, then patted Ezra's cheeks, softly at first and then with more vigor as he failed to get a response. Sabine's stomach lurched as he bent down and angled his ear to Ezra's chest, eyes wide and showing the beginnings of panic.

Zeb and Sabine both tense at the movement, but then Kanan breathed out in shaky relief, and Sabine's heart started beating again.

"Med-pack," he muttered, quickly moving away from Ezra and running towards the ladder out. "Try and get him conscious!" He shouted out, just before leaping up the ladder and disappearing.

"Eeh," Zeb murmured, uncertain, giant hands hesitating above his bunk-mate. Sabine moved forward again, pressing up to Ezra and laying the hand she'd taken the stormtrooper armor off of on his neck, needing that weak confirmation that he was-

 _Alive_.

She could feel the strained, hitched breathing, though, and knew the next few seconds would be crucial. "Zeb- Zeb help me lift him up, help me-" Sabine's voice was shaking; her hands too, as Zeb propped Ezra up in a semi-sitting position. She could see the burn mark on his back.

Not from the fire below- Kanan must have latched onto him before that disaster could have happened -but from that one blaster bolt commander Morden had finally managed to land on him. It'd seared through the backpack to the back of his vest, dead-center of his back, and Sabine could see patches of charred flesh underneath. "Bacta," she murmured, running her eyes over it and knowing she couldn't do much else without Kanan's med-pack-

"Sabine- he _stopped_ -" Her eyes shot up, fixating on the pained look Ezra was wearing and the way his eyes were scrunching and the way he _wasn't breathing-_

"Down, down down!" She ordered, hastily reaching over and feeling his neck for a pulse once again, and finding it weakened than before. Panic blossomed in her stomach-

 _No no no you can't do this-_

"Press on his chest!" Zeb complied immediately, going into the basic stage of the resuscitation anyone even remotely involved in some sort of military branch knew. His purple hands compressed downwards rapidly and repetitively, Ezra's torso half-heartedly bucking with each compression. She counted the seconds-

 _Come on come on come on-_

Sabine bent over low, hands shaking in pain and terror as she pressed her mouth onto Ezra's and blew in a breath of air. Nothing-

"No, no no no- you can't do this Ezra, you can't-" Sabine drew back, staring at Ezra's lax face with wide eyes before going back down, breathing more forcefully and clamping his nose shut.

 _There!_

"Zeb go!" The Lasat began compressions again, following up the tiny breath of air Ezra had taken with several more hard pressured thrusts to the chest, eyes widened the same as hers at the painful hope and the even more painful fear-

"Come on Ezra, come on you can't do this-"

Sabine shot down for another mouth-to-mouth, ignoring the burning feeling in her stomach and focusing on giving Ezra _air_ -

" _No_..." Kanan had come back, and Sabine shocked herself when she saw tears dripping onto Ezra's face.

Hers.

"Ezra _please-_ "

He burst out coughing, shooting upwards with such speed he nearly collided into Sabine- but she didn't care because

he

was

 _alive._

There was a great deal of movement as Zeb cried out in victory, Kanan darted over to crouch next to them, and Sabine sunk down even further on the floor as Ezra doubled over coughing.

"You're alive!" Zeb cheered, moving to thump his hand on Ezra's back but thinking better of it. Ezra took a great rasping breath, mirrored by Sabine's own, before he groaned,

"Oww."

"Stay up kid, and I'll see what I can do- Hera'll be down in a minute after she lands, and she's a lot better at this than I am." The humor was strained, but still there, leading Zeb and Ezra to develop ghost smiles. Sabine swayed, even sitting down, as the adrenaline wore off and the pain kicked in full-force. She'd torn the skin most definitely- the muscles located in that region were protesting as well, contracting painfully and making the notion of curling into a tight ball and not moving for a while _very_ pleasant. Ezra twisted sideways, giving Kanan more access to his back and facing Sabine.

She must have still looked teary-eyed, because he was trying to smile tightly at her as Kanan slipped the straps of the back-pack off his shoulders to get him a better view of the damage done.

"Hey," he said softly, eyes tightening softly as Kanan applied disinfectant on his back. Sabine shook her head slowly, biting her lip and trying to get the words to come out.

" _Don't,_ ever scare me like that again," she whispered, cursing even as her eyes got more watery. "Just _don't._ "

Ezra winced, Kanan apologized softly, and Zeb sniffed. "Hey, it's-" he broke down coughing again, and three pairs of eyes sharpened their focus on him, "-it's okay now, right? It all-" Sabine could _see_ the effort he put into trying _not_ to wheeze as he paused once more, "-worked out in the end; we're okay." Sabine's eye twitched.

"And what if you weren't? What would I do then? Ezra you-" _Don't break down, don't break down,_ "Just- promise me you won't-" _Don't break down,_ "Don't- just don't- _ever_ -scare me like that again." _Don't break-_ "I need you."

The last part was spoken softly, to the point where Zeb's ears twitched and Kanan kept going without any interruption. Only Ezra seemed to have a reaction- blinking while simultaneously frowning, he brought his eyebrows together-

And then lurched forwards the same time Kanan leaned back, the both of them wincing and grimacing. Kanan hissed while Ezra groaned, the both of them narrowing their eyes. "Well," Kanan started, but was interrupted by the sound of hurried feet clattering down the ladder. He brightened as Hera clambered down into the cargo-bay, leku all but flying from the speed at which she descended.

"Sabine, Ezra, welcome back and it's good to see you- now tell me how badly injured you are and let me see it." Kanan scooted to the side as Hera took his place, narrowing her eyes at Ezra's back and swiftly getting to work.

"'Tell me how badly injured you are and let me see it'?" Ezra echoed, raising an eyebrow slowly to cover up a wince, making Hera hum grimly.

"Precaution. Usually I'm hoping the answer's 'not badly injured at all Hera, we all got away without injury,' but I have to be extra watchful whenever you guys leave the ship." Zeb's mouth quirked into a smirk, and Kanan sighed.

"Well, at least you guys managed to get our attention and get back," he said, making both Sabine and Ezra smile tiredly.

"Yeah- we were planning on actually just flying over Jhothal until you two managed to get onto a building somewhere," Zeb joked, elbowing Ezra lightly.

"There-" Hera drew back, crinkling her nose, "that's about all I'm comfortable doing with what we have on-board. Until then _no doing anything_. At all. For a couple weeks at least- that includes missions and training and cleaning and-"

"Got it." Ezra interrupted, small smile mirroring Kanan's behind him. Sabine imitated the both of them- and then found herself staring at the tip of Ezra's outstretched finger. "Now her."

Three pairs of eyes instantly fixated on her, and Sabine found herself smiling half-heartedly at them. "You too!?" Zeb exclaimed, quickly looking over her with a scrutinous eye and shaking his head.

Kanan sighed lightly, rubbing one eye and supporting his weight on the floor with the other. He smiled tiredly even as Hera moved over closer, shrugging her shoulders with resignation. "These are the reckless ones, dear- more so than you on some occasions."

Kanan looked rather affronted for a second.

"Well, it wasn't really our fault," Sabine defended her and Ezra, remembering that the majority of their injuries had come from circumstances out of their control, "but sometimes those bucket-heads just get lucky." And then went down in a ball of flame.

"And give _you_ injuries worse than _mine_ ," Ezra stated, prodding Hera into action as she helped Sabine start to take the stormtrooper armor off.

"It wasn't-" Sabine objected, only to be shushed by both Hera and Ezra.

"It was too," Ezra quietly stated, reminding Sabine that _he_ had had to cauterize her gaping wound and pull her out of the wreckage. She only remembered flashes of moments in what must have been the most dangerous moments of her entire life- and she wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

Hera hissed as the both of them got the bulky stormtrooper chest-piece off, revealing her _much_ more colorful armor underneath... and also much more blood-soaked. Yeah, her wound had opened up again- but judging from the fact that Hera wasn't going into immediate alarm mode and whisking her off to someplace secluded to treat Sabine within an inch of her life, it wasn't that bad.

Still hurt.

"Is it too much to ask that an op goes right for once?" Zeb groaned, plunking himself squarely on the ground next to Kanan and twitching his nose at what Sabine was sure to be the scent of her blood.

Ezra chuckled lightly, coughed twice afterwards, but then responded: "We were trying- it's just we were over-compensating. See, we're so used to having a big bumbling Lasat to attract blaster fire; without one we had to _drastically_ change tactics, but it was _so_ unfa _miliar-_ "

"Shut it," Zeb growled, ears flicking in annoyance, but he was unable to hide the twitch of his lip indicating a suppressed smile.

Hera gently tugged on Sabine's elbow, and the two rose off the hangar floor, Twi'lek placing a supporting hand on her mid-back and gently escorting her out the room. "I'm going to need to see that," she explained softly, leaving the two other Spectres behind her to look after Ezra. Sabine nodded, relieved she could finally rest and stop the pain- Sabine blinked as they entered the hall to their cabins, realization hitting.

They were home.

They'd made it- they'd made it through the explosions and the pain and the fighting and the fear and had finally, _finally_ made it back to the _Ghost_... Sabine breathed a laugh, drawing a raised eyebrow from Hera. She shook her head in response to the captain's questioning hum.

"It's good to be back."


	29. Carry On

**Before I start off anything, I know I've scared a couple of you guys in the past, so I'll just say this now- THIS IS NOT THE END. Not yet. We've still got a little unfinished business to attend to- but this chapter right here is most definitely NOT the ending.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I WISH I owned Star Wars... then I wouldn't need to put up with semester exams at ALL... Well, I _would_ , but at least I'd have money to go along with the worries. -m-**

* * *

 _I need you._

Ezra blinked his eyes open, the frown apparent on his lips transferring to them. _I didn't make that up... did I?_ Ezra growled at the bottom of his bunk- he was temporarily situated in Zeb's bunk, until Hera decided he was fit to move elsewhere. It was in no way entertaining, which was why he had attempted to occupy himself with meditation... but Sabine's words- _or did I just think them up?_ -were distracting him, much like even _earlier_ , when it had been all he'd been able to think about in the sewers, whether or not she had said-

 _That's twice in a row- am I just desperate or is something actually going on?_

The thing was, _if_ she had said what Ezra thought she said, she had said it _very_ quietly. To the point where Ezra was only sure that her lips had _moved_ , not the actual words she'd said.

 _Keep in mind,_ Ezra thought to himself, nodding slightly and wincing as he regretted doing so, _she thought- they_ all _thought I was... dying. Anyone would be scared and say things they don't actually mean._

 _...to a certain degree at least._

Ezra groaned, gingerly raising his hands to rub at his temple. This was driving him nuts- not surprising, this had been his topic of choice for the past... day. Or two... three.

 _All the mental discipline I can possibly get and I still can't stop thinking about her three days after the fact._ Maybe he needed to ask Kanan to focus again on that certain aspect of his Jedi training; especially since this had been preventing most other forms of functional thought.

Restricted to bed-rest and an absolute _bare-minimum_ of movement by the ever watchful Hera, pretty much the only chance Ezra was going to get of resolving his inner battle was by Sabine coming to _him_. Which was unlikely, considering Hera had her tethered down as well. Going off of what he was able to glean from Zeb, however, the reopening hadn't been as bad as he'd thought. Sabine just needed to rest, like him... and though he was pretty sure the both of them wanted nothing more than to get up on their feet and _do_ stuff, they also both knew that it was best to follow Hera's instructions.

Frustrating or no.

 _I'm gonna go insane if I don't get some answers- or, explanations, or... just an understanding of what's going on._ From what he could see, there were two possibilities- either some desperate part of his subconscious was fabricating different situations based on the realities he hadn't been able to observe clearly, or... or Sabine had some unmentioned feelings for him.

 _Or it could just be that she was overreacting in_ both _situations because the both of us were in life-threatening situations and I'm still overreacting._

 _What_ was going _on_!? Usually Ezra was _never_ so conflicted or hesitant, in _any_ situation- but here, he couldn't seem to get his head wrapped around heads or tails of what was going on. It was getting rather frustrating- and he _couldn't. Stop._ Thinking about it.

Ezra sighed, trying to relax into the unfamiliar bunk and to _set his head straight_. _I'm not going to think about this anymore- if Sabine has any..._ anything _, she'll tell me. If she doesn't, it's not for me, and I shouldn't worry- I shouldn't even_ think _about this, any of it. I'll just wait until I get new information, or a lack thereof, and that'll be that._ Okay- that was a game-plan, at least. And honestly, it should be easy to stop thinking about the Mandalorian- there was nothing in the room to remind him of her, excepting the picture of him and Zeb on the wall, but that was behind him and out of sight, so by all rights, he should be able to _follow_ that game-plan. Maybe even be able to actually meditate a bit.

"Ezra?"

 _This is gonna be harder than I thought..._

Ezra turned his head slightly to be met with the sight of Sabine standing in the opened doorway, tilting her head slightly. "Would it be anyone else?"

"Nah- just checking if you were awake or not. Did I...?"

"Wake me up?" _Well... indirectly, you kinda kept me from going to sleep in the first place, which can be considered even-_ "No; couldn't sleep in the furball's bunk anyways." Zeb was currently outside helping Hera with maintenance, and Ezra was relishing that fact.

"You- uh, you healing okay?" He inquired, slowly shimmying himself up onto elbows to get into a _slightly_ more elevated position. He was glad for the gloomy lighting the room was currently situated in- even though Sabine probably knew he was wincing anyways, it never hurt to hide the event itself. Sabine shrugged, hand ghosting towards her abdomen at its mention.

"Well enough that Hera hasn't shooed me back to the bunk yet, I guess." Sabine hesitated, but then stepped fully into the room and leaned against the right wall- where Ezra wouldn't have to move much to keep her in his sights, of course.

Ezra swallowed before chuckling lightly. "Lucky." Sabine hummed in response, crossing her arms. Ezra could just make out that her eyes were on him- and suddenly his stomach was roiling.

 _Stop it stop it stop it-_

"Morden's not dead." Sabine's blatant statement made Ezra blink, and luckily diverted his thoughts. Maybe not _pleasantly_ , but it was still a diversion. "He survived the tower falling- he came on a broadcast to make a statement about- well. Us."

Ezra sighed, looking back up to the bottom of his bunk and trying to piece together the ramifications of what Sabine had just told him. "... He's going to keep looking for us," was the first to come to mind, immediately followed by a grimace. "And he'll probably call in the Inquisitor, as well. I guess we were just lucky he didn't, before." Alone, they had barely been able to get away in one piece just going up against Morden- with the Pau'an in play as well, there was no doubt in Ezra's mind that both he and Sabine would be either dead or captured.

"Yeah," Sabine eventually responded. "I walked in on Hera and the others briefing for the next op- something about taking out Morden's transport or something. Destabilizing his image so we don't look beaten." That made Ezra's lip twitch upwards- as long as they were together, they were _never_ beaten. That much he had learned from the past week with Sabine at least- just as long as they had each other. Someone watching their backs.

"...We're not going, are we."

"So glad you caught on." Sabine huffed, and Ezra slowly lowered himself back down into his lying position. He wasn't going anywhere soon. "Hera's sticking to her resting plan; she, Zeb and Kanan are going out on the mission in two days. You and I are gonna stay here on our own- Chop'll be here, but that's more of a threat than a safety measure, honestly."

 _"You and I are gonna stay here on our own"_

 _Stop freaking out!_

"Uh- y-yeah, but he's not- he's not _that_ bad, mostly," Ezra managed to force a few words out of his throat as, unbidden, all his distress and worries and just _thoughts_ and _speculations_ rose to the surface to start antagonizing him once more. _It's not a big deal- it's not a big deal it's NOT A BIG DEAL. Sabine's not like that, she's not- she's not saying anything, that means I must've- must've imagined it, imagined her saying those things and then blowing those imaginations out of the water_ -

"-you okay? Ezra?"

"Yes- I'm fine, I'm- I'm perfectly fine. Um. Yeah." Ezra shut his eyes, squeezing them tight and berating himself for a., letting a whole chunk of the conversation blow past him, and b., for sounding like such an awkward _dork_ trying to cover up for it. There really wasn't a faster way of telling Sabine something was up other than plain out yelling it- and from the few seconds of silence that had followed his excuse, she had most definitely noticed it and was most likely piecing together all the possible causes that _would_ cause him to be so awkward.

"...I'm sorry, Sabine, I just-"

"You were preoccupied by something in the hospital," Sabine interrupted, speaking softly but firmly, "when we were planning. You were thinking about it again when we were leaving for Tama's, and just before we infiltrated the tower, and when I said I trusted you with my helmet." Her helmet!

"Your helmet-!"

"Shush about the helmet," Sabine waved him down, "don't change the subject. Something's been eating at you. What is it?" There was a beat of silence once more- Ezra chewed his lip, unsure of just... how... to proceed.

 _Ask her about it- ask her whether she said those things!_

 _But if she didn't it'll make me look like a- like a desperate... person!_

 _Since when have you cared about how people look at you? This is the perfect time to ask! SHE'S TELLING YOU TO ASK!_

 _But if she_ did _say those things but didn't_ mean _them, that'd just be unfair to her._

"Sorry," Sabine whispered, and Ezra was startled to actually see regret on her face- she was turning _away_ , heading to the _door_ -

 _IDIOT! Not saying anything makes it looked like she crossed a boundary!_

 _SAY SOMETHING!_

"Don't go-" Sabine stopped, miraculously, and turned, face trying to be blank but still conveying worry- at least to Ezra. ...Who had nothing to say that could _possibly_ stand in for the truth, except for... well. The truth.

 _No- not full-frontal. Just- just a small bit, and if she leads into another area-_ any other _area -I'll follow, and that'll be that. I'm not risking what I have with her right now._

"...I..." Curses, how he just wished he could sit up and properly look her in the eyes instead of just... lying there, staring at her sideways. "It's just-" _Just get it over with- like a bacta-patch. Just rip it off and get it over with._ "You said... that you needed me. When- um. When... when that happened. I was just- you _did_ say that right?" Momentary fear clouded his thoughts as Sabine pulled her eyebrows into a slight frown- she'd said that, right? He was sure- no he wasn't, he could have very well just made that up to try-

"I said that," Sabine nodded slowly, crossing her arms over her chest. She wasn't getting mad- that was a good thing, at least... and it let Ezra keep on going with just a moment of delay afterwards.

"Oh- oh, right, yeah, um. Well- I just... you..." _Like a bacta-patch._ "Was it just a heat of the moment thing?!" He finally blurted, biting his lip immediately afterwards, regretting letting the words slip but tensely watching for her reaction... and answer.

Both were slow in coming. She staid still, for a moment, and Ezra was pretty sure her breathing had stopped for a second as well. Then, she scratched the back of her neck, slowly, with one hand and then with the other. Anxiety and unease gripped Ezra's chest with cold hands, making him swallow and lick his lips nervously. Another second passed- Ezra backpedalled in his head, running through his other options as quickly as possible- he could laugh and say nevermind, forget about it; he could hope and pray another member of the crew came in and interrupted; he could actually broadcast his emotions and _get_ Kanan to interrupt-

"I haven't been able to stop thinking about it-" or he could babble on and confess. "-it's pretty much the _only_ thing I can think about, and I've been stuck here for three days now, trying to find an answer to whether or not you actually- actually _meant_ it or I'd just dreamed it up or- and you said- you said the same thing in the factory, just before we took the sewers, and I've been trying to figure out whether or not to take it _seriously_ or-"

"So I _did_ say that," Sabine breathed, looking slightly surprised and a little satisfied. She nodded slightly, stopping Ezra straight in his tracks. Probably a good thing.

She took a deep breath, then scratched the top of her head for a single moment more. Then-

"...Yes." Ezra blinked. "Yes, it... it _was_ just a heat of the moment thing." Ezra stopped, for a second. He stilled, and then blinked, before turning his head back around to stare at the bottom of his bunk, with a small nod. Well, it wasn't like he hadn't seen this coming- he'd just- maybe _hoped_ that- that...

"...But that doesn't make it any less genuine."

* * *

Ezra shot up with speed that surprised her- and then fell back down when he hit the bottom of the bunk above him. Sabine moved forwards a bit, intending to try and somewhat ease his struggle, but was stopped in the middle of the room when he wheezed, "Huh? Hold- hold on- you- huh?"

 _This dork..._ Sabine nodded, smiling fondly as Ezra shook his head like he was trying to clear it- and sighing internally as she saw his wince. He wouldn't be paying any attention to his bodily reactions just this moment, though, so Sabine got straight to the point- she'd been wanting to for a while, now.

"I said those things in the heat of the moment- if we hadn't been about to die, I probably never would have said what I did. But that doesn't mean I didn't mean them. You..." Sabine stopped. She bit her lip... and then shrugged. _It's time we come clean to one another._ "You mean a lot to me. More so than... then anyone, really. I've never... had something like this before." _And I really, really want to keep it._

It was interesting- and more than a little nerve-wracking -to see the amount of filtered and unfiltered reactions and emotions that flitted across Ezra's face as she spoke and afterwards. She could pick up relief, confusion, hesitation, a puzzled sort of acceptance... and things that just couldn't be put into words. She couldn't decide whether she herself was relieved or annoyed that, like she predicted, was wasn't paying any attention to his injuries or discomfort that _she_ could plainly see as he shifted around in the bunk, trying to settle into a new position like he always did while thinking.

"I- I mean, just- how? _Why_? This- this is new, you didn't- beforehand you didn't-" Sabine cocked her head.

"Beforehand?"

"When- when I first came onboard... I mean, you didn't _then_ and now you _do_ -" She lifted an eyebrow as Ezra stammered on, before a sudden fear made her stomach clench painfully.

"You- this isn't, um, bad for you, or-

"What-" Ezra's eyes widened and he shook his head vigorously, assuaging the jitters that had suddenly crept up on her even before he started talking again. "No no no- no, this is- this is good, this is- amazing, I- you mean _so_ , so much and I- I just... how? What- what changed- why...?"

 _Why indeed..._ "...Well, I don't know exactly... _when_ I- but do you remember when we first got back from destroying the mine?"

Ezra blinked and frowned, looking away for a second before nodding. "Yeah- Kanan and Hera were trying to decode that chip I got out, and..."

Sabine nodded as Ezra stopped, filling in the blank. "And we were teasing the both of them with those signs you'd overheard from Tama and his father." Ezra look back at her eyes, slightly calmer and slightly more... amazed.

"I barely even remember those," he whispered, and Sabine smiled gently as she responded in kind-

"I do. I started noticing the parallels, how we fit, and then it took me a while, but I finally got myself to realize _why_ I _wanted_ to fit. Though it took me a few days... and a lot of thinking, like what you told me _you_ were doing." When he'd started to gush earlier, Sabine could barely hold back a smile as she realized he'd been going through pretty much the exact same dilemma as she had been going through earlier on- trying to figure out whether or not she liked him.

Ezra closed his eyes; Sabine noticed he was breathing deeply, like in meditation. She had an urge to pinch him- tell him this wasn't a dream... and that he didn't have to be so bloody careful. Because she could see _why_ he was trying to get all the facts- _why_ he was restraining himself to making sure this was what he thought it was. Ezra didn't want to damage what they already had- and neither did Sabine... which was why she pressed on.

"The first one I noticed was that you always know how to make me laugh- the both of us do, really. Even right now shows the 'their boundaries are yours' part of the deal, but that was the second one- we know each other so well to the point where we shop with each other's lists, and after I'd realized that was when I _really_ started getting distracted." Ezra was nodding, frowning just slightly, and Sabine could tell he was remembering how odd she must have been acting around that time period. "When we were both talking to one another up on top of the _Ghost_ I figured that we- well, we tell each other about... _us_ , and we both feel the other's pain... In the briefing we both acknowledged each others skills, and it'd be pretty hard to _not_ say there's no one like us to each other... I don't really need to know about the others to know that you _are_ important to me and I feel _completely_ justified in freaking out when you- when you got shot."

Ezra nodded slowly, and Sabine let the silence stand as it was; she gave him time to pull together everything she'd said and put it into his own world- because Sabine wasn't letting this go. She had freaked out when she had thought Ezra was dying- because he was -to the point where she hadn't even noticed much anything else. She'd had a lot of time to think- like Ezra -over the past three days, and she was resolute- she cared deeply for him, and never wanted to let that feeling go. It was... unique, and special... she'd never had anything- any _relationship_ -like this all her life, and Sabine wanted to experience all of it.

"...Huh," Ezra finally spoke, smiling softly, "I guess I have to take back all the jokes I made about Kanan and Hera..." Sabine grinned at the recollection of how Ezra had _refused_ to leave the Jedi alone in those days after their mission.

"I honestly thought he'd crack before long," Sabine joked, wiping a strand of hair from her eyes. "Though I guess maybe it's a good thing that our fearless leader _isn't_ cracked."

Ezra laughed- a sound Sabine hadn't heard since they started up against the tower, and a sound that she hoped she'd hear for a while longer. "You mean more cracked than he already is- though I think we're all a little cracked to be honest."

Sabine nodded, upper lip twitching, and added on: "We're a crew of six going up against the most powerful force this galaxy has ever witnessed. I think we're a little more than _cracked_."

An agreeing hum was her response- and as they faded into companionable silence, Ezra's smile faded somewhat into the corners of his mouth. "So... what happens now?" Sabine drew in a breath, her eyes softening as she smiled gently.

"We carry on- and we look out for one another."


	30. The Danger Inside

**I actually feel really bad about this- it's short, it's mean, and I'm probably not gonna be able to update for a week or so. Semester exams are coming straight at us, and pretty much everyone's freaking out about it. (** **Including me** **) But Christmas is coming! And that's always good, so yay Christmas!**

 **Also ow my heart Ezra you poor little blueberry- I simultaneously hate and love the newest episode. TT^TT**

 **Disclaimer: ONE MORE WEEK! ONE MORE WEEK! JUST ONE MORE UNTIL THE FORCE AWAKENS COMES OUT! AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH- see, this is the inside of my head- totally not professional in the slightest, therefore clearing me of any charges of ownership of this wondrous series.**

* * *

"Are you sure you've got your comm on?" Hera asked for the umpteenth time, and Sabine resisted the strong urge to roll her eyes.

"It might not be my helmet, but I _do_ know how to work a comm system."

"Just making sure," The Twi'lek reiterated her follow up, and Sabine shook her head good-naturedly. "And make sure you keep Ezra moving around as little as possible- I know he's anxious, but over-exerting himself will just make healing take longer."

"I _got_ it Hera; you need to start heading out." Sabine cocked her head at Zeb, who'd poked his head out of the still attached _Phantom_.

Hera pursed her lips, the call of the mission _and_ of keeping her crew healthy pulling her with equal force in opposite directions. Sabine could only sigh; it was nice to have someone looking out for her, but over-bearing kind of negated the warm and fuzzy feelings such an action brought.

"Well- Zeb, you and Kanan should be able to handle this, right? I can always stay behind just to make sure-"

"No no," Sabine shook her head, placing a hand on the Twi'lek's shoulder and pushing her slightly in the direction of the _Phantom_ , "we've been through this- you're trying to take a notch out of Morden, right? That means you're gonna need as much man-power as you can possibly get. Ezra and I are only staying because you _won't_ let us go, and you're leaving Chopper here to charge; that's half the crew out, you don't want to make that even more."

Hera frowned and looked back out the hall towards where Ezra was, still unconvinced. "But this is just a simple op, it's not like we'll be going up against him directly."

Sabine nodded. "Yeah- we thought the op with his factory was gonna be simple too, and look how that ended up." Hera hummed, taking Sabine's point but casting yet another eye in the direction of the still-grounded Padawan. Sabine once again resisted the temptation to roll her eyes, and instead maneuvered Hera closer to the door of the _Phantom_ , trying to think of something to ease Hera's mind and allow her to help out Kanan and Zeb.

"Look- Ezra and I will be fine. We looked after each other on our own, in unfamiliar territory- I think we can do the same aboard the _Ghost_." Hera scrunched her nose, but nodded after a second, making Sabine smile.

"Alright, fine- but I want you to stay near that comm at all times, and to pull up my frequency at the first sign of _anything_ , alright? We just got you two back, and I'd rather like to keep you in one piece." Sabine nodded her promise, and that apparently was enough to satisfy the pilot. Kanan stepped into the doorway of the _Phantom_ right as Hera entered, maneuvering to the side slightly so they wouldn't collide as the Jedi locked eyes with Sabine and cocked his head in the direction of Ezra.

"Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid. Or you yourself-" Sabine raised her eyebrows teasingly as Zeb cleared his throat from inside the excursion vessel, impatient to leave. Kanan wrinkled his nose, but just settled on a quick "Keep yourselves resting- we'll be back in a bit," before ducking back into the ship as the hatch closed. Sabine smirked as she stepped out of the hall, the _Phantom_ vibrating the flooring slightly as it took off. Honestly, she would have thought Kanan and Hera would've known she and Ezra could take care of themselves- but being protective was what family was for, she guessed. Right now she was just glad they were going off on their mission, _finally_ , instead of staying at 'home' and taking care of them.

Usually Sabine would have been absolutely _begging_ Hera to let her go with them- but not this time. No, because if she did _that_ , she knew that a certain someone would get bored rather quickly... and he did stupid things while bored. Around a soon-to-wake fresh and rejuvenated Chopper, Sabine could only imagine the horrors that Padawan and Machine could create in the time it would take them to get back from their secondary mission with Morden... No, it was better if she stayed behind as well, not only to keep an eye out for the unruly Ezra, but also to giver herself more time to heal before she got back into the swing of things.

Because yeah, she was antsy and itching to get back in the game and take out a few more bucketheads, but even she knew over-exerting herself now would land her with even more time lying in that bunk.

 _And now's the time to paint-_ finally.

Other than the companionship, warm beds and food, painting had been the number one activity she'd missed while stranded. The original mission had called for stealth, and so Sabine hadn't taken _any_ paint sprayers- a fact that she'd sorely regretted later on. But now- _now_ was the time she could finally get back to doing what she loved... and she had just the project in mind.

 _Although it_ has _been revised a couple times..._ Sabine smiled softly as she thought of her newest addition to her 'masterpiece' that she had originally been planning to tease Kanan and Hera with. She'd planned to make it blatantly obvious and nothing more than a joke... but now, she was actually seriously considering using her permanent paints, as serious as her vision for the mural had turned out to be. _Maybe I can get-_ her eyes widened and her breath stopped- that was _perfect_ -

"And then the stars could- and the moon- and-and the-" She could feel her heartbeat increasing even now as she envisioned her new idea, different ideas for actually transferring what she could see into the real-world popping up in her head and quickly being rejected. _This- this has to be permanent, no doubt about it, but I'll need to cancel out the smudging the preparatory residue will make- a thin coating should do, so I can just go ahead and get started-_

"Hey, Sabine?"

"No time- emergency painting session!" Sabine darted past Ezra, who was peeking out from his bunkroom, and now following her with intrigued eyes.

"Emergency painting?" He called after her, but his question was lost on her- Sabine was gathering every single shade of paint she currently had with her, not sure of just _what_ she'd need just yet, instead just following her gut and the general outline for what she had right now-

 _Greens, lots of those, but orange too, and blue- blues and blacks for the background, and silver- a pink maybe? Purple, and greys-_ " _What_ are you _doing_?" Sabine turned around to see Ezra leaning against her open doorway, eyebrows drawn together as he saw her gather what looked like the entirety of her paint arsenal, and four separate sprayers.

"Painting- I just got the _best_ idea and I'm _not_ letting it get away from me, and it's going-" She turned around fully, frowning and lifting her chin to point it at Ezra. "You need to keep resting." It was almost comical how Ezra could groan without ever making a sound- but Sabine wouldn't relent _here_.

"I can move around, I just need to be careful-"

"And that's why I'm telling you to go rest." Ezra stuck out his tongue, to witch Sabine huffed at. "Besides- _no_ one's gonna see this beauty till it's finished, including you. This is going to be a surprise for _everyone-_ so shoo."

He smirked slightly, once again looking at the collection of paint containers she had in her arms and scattered around the floor. "I don't need to see it to know it's gonna be colorful, _that_ 's for sure." Sabine nodded, also looking down and re-assessing what she thought she might or might not need. She did need a lot...

"That's the standard for any piece I make- but shoo, shoo, and let me go work in piece. And get some rest!" Ezra rolled his eyes, trying to smother his smile but not _quite_ succeeding, and threw back "You're starting to sound like Hera, you know," just before gingerly making it back to his bunk. Sabine _was_ glad he was healing, but honestly. He hadn't really gotten the professional treatment she had, and he was _still_ trying to get right back on his feet. It was a good thing she was just as stubborn as he was.

 _Now- scale? Scope? How much room is this thing gonna take? I'll need to proportion everyone right..._ The wall above the Dejarik board. There was currently nothing there now, and it was large enough to give her ample room to do what she wanted- and, of course, it was in plain view of everyone.

Sabine dropped everything, only picking out her prepper and a few of the basic colors- black, blue, silver, green and orange. She'd _need_ to come back for more, that was absolute- but for right now, these would get her started out. And actually carry her on for a while, if she did things right.

 _Don't worry too much about that now- just get the idea in your head and out on that wall. Briskly making her way through the halls, Sabine sprang up atop the Dejarik board and deposited her paints there, happily noting that it didn't create too much of a strain for her to do so. She stood in a wide stance, knowing she didn't weigh nearly enough to cause any damage to the holographic board beneath her as she stared at the stretch of wall with which she was planning on laying her best piece yet._

 _Some stars there, and the main piece_ there _... with him there, and his arm just so- yes, this is going to work._ And it was perfectly spaced to work, as well. She honestly couldn't have asked for a better canvas for this particular picture... and the metal of the _Ghost_ was so familiar a surface for her to use it might as well not even matter. This was going to be epic- and Sabine couldn't get the grin off her face as she finally started.

* * *

Ezra opened his eyes once again, straining his ears for any sound of Sabine's paints spraying. He focused and listened for a few minutes, and when he concluded there was nothing to be heard, closed his eyes once more. He focused and waded into the currents of the Force, stretching out and bumping up against that life signature that could only ever belong to Sabine. He couldn't pull together much from her signature, except that it was bright with excitement... and that he thought he could hear the paint cans spraying.

 _Is it just because my focus is letting me pull details from my surroundings?_ Kanan hadn't gone over anything like that before, leading Ezra to think that he might just be imagining things...

But he _could_ hear them- no, not really _hear_ them, maybe more like, _feel_ their sounds, or the impact they made-

 _What_ is _this?_ Ezra had been puzzling for a while now- half an hour, by his chronometer, just a few minutes after Sabine had presumably started. He'd considered comming Kanan just to inquire about it, but figured the Jedi wouldn't appreciate his mission being interrupted by a simple question that could easily be answered afterwards. Besides, Ezra wanted to figure this out on his own- he'd just opened up to Sabine, and so had she. Ezra didn't know just how to put a handle on that, and he wanted to explore this new territory on his own. He might have powerful bonds with the crew, but-

His eyes shot open.

Bonds- _did I just- did we-_ Ezra focused again, narrowing his eyes and probing what he could feel from reality around him... and he found himself being pulled in two directions. Outside, most likely to wherever Kanan was... and a smaller, less active tug towards Sabine.

 _I made a bond with her._

They- they had a _bond_ \- Ezra sat up, keeping his eyes shut as he tried to visualize the currents sweeping around all of them... there was a definite connection there between him and the Mandalorian.

He couldn't feel anything from her, though- he just felt her presence there, sharp and distinct, as though there was a string attached to him and she was passively holding it.

 _I just- she- we-_

 _We have a bond. She probably can't feel it... but we have a bond. That's... that's..._ Ezra didn't actually know a word that could describe the feeling being _connected_ to someone he cared so much for brought him. He'd gone through it once with Kanan, in those few early days when he hadn't been sure _what_ being bonded in the Force felt like, and now...

 _We have a bond... A real_ bond. _It's there and it's..._

Amazing, was the only word he could use. Totally and utterly...

Amazing.

* * *

 _That's one part done- I'll need purple now, Sabine glanced at the 'sketchings' of her piece, taking in the faint outlines in the washable paint she'd used first. She'd be using that to create the blueprints for her final version, which_ _wouldn't_ be washable, so she could just rinse off the sketch lines when she had no more use for them. But now was not the time for that yet; she'd pulled everything together the way she wanted it, and now she had to breath life into it.

line _there_ , to make his arm more visible... yes, she could do that. Nodding to herself, Sabine turned around and darted through the still-opening doors and slid to her room, pausing only to make sure she didn't move too fast for her recuperating body to manage. Other than that, Sabine let herself fly through the ship, urgent as her need was to _finally_ get this piece onto it's canvas and out of her head.

 _I'll need to be sure to get their patterns right_ , she thought, recalling the intricate designs... really that all of them sported. Herself included- though maybe she'd be able to blur them together slightly, just get the color scheme? Although if she did that for herself, it might make the others look odd... No, she'd tough it out and draw her own armor like it was supposed to be. _Maybe I can pull up a holo of the others to get the exact details- there should be a few around, I might be able to look in Chopper's databanks_ _once he finishes charging..._ the astromech was bound to have at least _one_ picture of the crew somewhere, most likely tripping or otherwise suffering the effects of his electro prodder.

 _Other than that the hard part is gonna be the top sky above it all..._ she had a basic outline, but it would really be the color that pulled it all through. _So now I need to get the colors-_ ...aaaaaand probably answer the beeping comm next to her bunk.

 _Probably should have taken that with me_ , she mused, before grabbing onto it and quickly thumbing the answer key.

"Yeeeeeees?"

" _Oh_ there _you are,_ " Hera's relieved voice filtered through, and Sabine felt guilty for making her worry, " _why did it take you so long to pick up? Never mind- Morden isn't in the transport we thought he was._ " Sabine blinked, trying to pull her focus off her painting and instead onto what her captain was saying.

"Do you have a lead on where he _is_?"

" _We think so- but it's going to take us more time to get there than we originally anticipated. Do you or Spectre 6 need-_ "

"Spectre two, we're literally sitting here pretty. We don't need anything, and you staying out longer won't make that big of a deal. Actually, I'd prefer if you stayed out a little longer; I have something that's not ready to be seen just quite yet."

There was silence over the line for a few seconds, in which Sabine picked out her purple and silver, hesitating on her pinks before grabbing them as well. Then: " _Alright- but this will take us a significant amount of time to finish, so just be warned._ "

"Got it, got it... now go. And please, be careful-" Sabine turned serious for a moment, "-you do _not_ want to underestimate Morden."

" _Don't worry- we won't. Take care of yourselves._ "

The comm clicked off, and Sabine stared at it a moment more before attaching it on her belt and picking up a few more cans of paint. Hera had given her extra time and Sabine was going to use it- and try not to think too hard on what Morden might be able to do to the rest of her crew.

* * *

"We have a signal, Commander- tracing it now."

"Don't let it elude you, officer- this is one hunt where _someone_ will pay, be it our target... or the faulty hunter."

"Yes, sir."

* * *

It'd been an hour or so- Ezra was still happily exploring his latest bond when something pinged outside his awareness. He frowned and opened his eyes, sitting up and trying to pinpoint what had pulled him from his activity.

 _Is Kanan back?_

No- Ezra's head moved towards the door, his eyes narrowing as the feeling of _wrong_ made his blood pump just a little faster. Something wasn't right.

Ezra swung his legs out to the side slowly, trying not to upset his back as he stood up. Kanan had taught him to listen to the Force, and right now it was changing it's passive tone to one humming with an unspoken threat- the Inquisitor?!

 _No..._ not _the Inquisitor. This isn't... cold or dark, it's..._ danger. Something wasn't right out there, and it was making his radar ping.

Ezra stepped outside his room, the door swishing open quietly and leading him out into the empty hall. He was just about to call out to Sabine, but figured if there was a danger on the ship it would be better to stay quiet and hidden.

 _I still have to warn her- if something's going wrong we both need to be prepared, and get Kanan to come back if it's severe enough-_

Something white flashed in his peripheral vision, there was a sudden and sharp pain on his temple, and Ezra knew no more.

* * *

 _That's_ _one Spectre painted, now for the rest-_

Sabine heard the door swish open behind her, and was already frowning before she even spoke. "You're not supposed to be up right now."

"It's only thanks to the miracle of bacta that I am."

 _MORDEN!_

Sabine didn't know how or why but that was _Morden's_ voice and he was _behind her_ -

She dove off of the Dejarik table and behind the one side of the bench that would hide her from him and provide momentary cover, hands flying to her blasters- and finding nothing there. She just had her paint sprayers. Her weapons were in her cabin, stored until she next went outside the _Ghost_ \- because she'd never expected the threat to come _inside_.

 _I don't have any weapons, help is too far away to get here on time- I can't run, or else he'll get access to all the secrets we have, and I can't fight- Ezra. Where was Ezra. Not good, not good- unless he was still in his cabin and she just needed to stall to prevent Morden from finding him-_

"You might think you have me beat," Sabine called out, licking her lips slightly and rubbing her abdomen, "but this is a fight you can't win and you know it." Oh how Sabine wished that were true... She tensed and drew into herself as the sound of something clattering to the floor and rolling replaced any response Morden might have made- for a second she thought Morden might actually be crazy enough to throw a _bomb_ into the tiny space-

Sabine's scorched helmet came rolling across the floor, stopping just shy from the door to the eating galley.

"I have no quarrel with _you_ , Ms. Wren- I merely want to talk to you for a bit."


	31. The Talk

**Heh, heh... I think it's safe to say now that the holidays do NOT in fact give me unrestricted time to update... sorry, folks...**

 **But now we're back in business, and I'm honestly very fond of this chapter- though I think this story _may_ be ending soon. I have an idea, but that may or may not be followed up upon, and in all honesty, this story _could_ finish now, properly- tell me what you guys think.**

 **So, there's a bit more of Mandalorian culture introduced here. It's quite fascinating, and I recommend for all of you to look it up- but the main points addressed in this chapter are the Mandalorian Code (and Canons) of Honor, and the Manda. Seriously, go look them up- but basically the Code/Canons mentioned here basically say remain loyal to your clan, and the Manda is the Mandalorian afterlife.**

 **Disclaimer: I've saved my ranting about the Force Awakens for the disclaimer so I can cleverly tie it in with the fact I don't own Star Wars- OMG IT WAS AWESOME AND I CRIED AND LAUGHED AND I'M SO IN LOVE WIH EVERYONE THERE. There. That's sufficient proof, I feel- trust me, if you haven't seen the movie, it is a rather good one. J.J. and Disney did a rather spectacular job.**

* * *

"I merely want to talk to you for a bit."

Talk. _Talk._ With a Mandalorian, talking meant one of two things- a truce or an invitation. With an Imperial, talk meant surrender or a deal. With an Imperial Mandalorian...

 _He can't seriously think I'd ever consider negotiations,_ or _an invitation._

But talking might give Ezra time, if he was indeed still unnoticed- and it would certainly buy _her_ some to try and figure out how to get out of the situation. As it was, there weren't a whole lot of options- she only had her paint sprayers on her, and faced against an Imperial of Morden's caliber they were next to useless. Her communicator was on the Dejarik table behind her, and any move to retrieve it would be obvious to the Mandalorian, and probably countered immediately with deadly force. She needed to buy time... but that didn't mean she couldn't gather information while in the act of buying said time.

"I'll talk- if you tell me-" _if you've found Ezra_ "-how you found my location."

She heard an amused snort. Not tense, not scared, not forced- he was at relative ease. So maybe he _did_ simply want to talk... or maybe he was so confident in his ability to take her out he genuinely _was_ comfortable.

"Please- it was obvious your rebel friends would attempt to destabilize my image and warnings after your destruction of my facility. A child could predict an attack on my transport, and a child could certainly plant false information to guarantee _which_ target specifically would be hit. All that was left afterwards was to set up tracing equipment to track any transmissions that went out- after finding my supposed position vacant, any decently organized faction would call back to their base of operations." Sabine could've groaned, there. _Hera's transmission- he tracked it here, probably started heading to the_ Ghost _as soon as she commed._ However, that might meant that the Spectres aboard the _Phantom_ would realize what'd happened with the absence of Morden's presence elsewhere and come speeding back to the _Ghost_ -

Time. She just needed to buy some more time, to get everything sorted out...

"Now then," Morden's voice wasn't hostile, wasn't smug, wasn't gloating- he was carefully neutral. "I will send my men out of your ship," Sabine interpreted the clacks of armor on the floor as several stormtroopers doing just that, "and the two of us can talk like civilized beings."

 _Oh yeah, you're_ completely civil _with a blaster pointing at my face..._

However, as Sabine slowly stood from behind the bench, she was actually surprised to see that Morden had his blaster (and other assorted weapons) holstered. His hands were crossed behind his back, and he did indeed look... civil. More so than the _other_ Imperial officers Sabine'd run across, anyways. She crossed her own arms in front of her, staring him in the eyes and making no effort to conceal her disdain. He smiled, cold eyes neutral.

"Congratulations on the destruction of my base." Sabine blinked.

"What?"

"Congratulations- as small a group as you are, you still managed to near completely destroy all of my base, a feat we wouldn't deign to assume _anyone_ without a small army could achieve. Your victory may have been at the hands of my loss, but I still recognize talent when I see it."

Sabine narrowed her eyes, still a bit thrown and confused. _What are you supposed to do when an enemy compliments you?_ _Do you thank them or just move on or ignore it- yeah, that sounds right._

"What do you want from me?"

Morden smiled again, raising his eyebrows at her obvious denial of his compliment but moving over it. Sort of. "The very talent you showed battling me, is what I want." _I thought so- but is he really serious right now? Honestly, he should_ know _better than to try and get me to work for him._ But if she wanted more than a few seconds to try and pull some miracle (unfortunately, _not_ the explosive kind) from her sleeves, a simple outright denial wouldn't do.

Of course, no matter what, she would _always_ deny working for the Empire ever again.

"Are you offering me a job?" She curled her nose in disgust, thankfully not needing to conceal any part of her revulsion of the proposition.

Morden shrugged. "Not so much a job as... an upgrade. You already spend a good portion of your time fighting and risking your life, what are the negatives of doing the same thing under the Empire?"

Sabine curled her lips, but there was a small voice in the back of her head that was getting suspicious. Morden was smart enough to know a full-blown rebel wouldn't quit that easily... he was holding something back. "Oh, I don't know, the fact that working there by extension means condemning millions and billions of innocents to suffer-"

"Don't you already do that as well?" Morden was quick to interrupt, and Sabine drew back, smiling at the absurdity of what he'd said.

"I don't know if you've noticed, but we're _helping_ the people-"

"Yes, I'm sure Mr. Tama and his family must thank you so much for the destruction of their workplace- they'd been there for how many generations, exactly?" Sabine hesitated, a small tendril of guilt curling in her stomach. But they'd had to destroy the mine- if it meant stopping the Imperials from manufacturing more supplies with which to- "And of course, that single mine isn't the only structure you've taken out. How many Tamas are there, Ms. Wren? How many families now homeless or jobless through your activities?"

She squared her shoulders. "I could ask you the same question- and I'll bet you're answer's a lot higher than mine."

Morden shrugged. "There will always be those unhappy with the regime of the government, and there will always be sacrifices that need to be made for the greater good. There are several billions of lives living contently under the Empire's governing, whereas your particular organization is viewed upon in without approval."

"By those who _haven't_ been sold into slavery or worse, you mean. Everyone's too scared to stand or speak up for themselves, and those who aren't are made into examples- captured, tortured, deported or killed."

"True, the Empire doesn't yield to every petty farmer's outlandish demands like the soft Republic- but even _they_ had plenty of suffering under their rule. The Separatists formed out of those unhappy citizens, and look how well their campaign did. Not a single trace of their organization left, the worlds under their protection now safe and cared for by the new Empire. Your rebels are the new Separatists- you go against the government simply because you are unhappy. Within a few years, the Rebellion, too, will be stomped out by those who _are_ happy."

Sabine snorted, looking Morden up and down. "And why would you be telling me this? I don't believe a single word of it- but you obviously do, so why give me the warning?"

Morden's eyes flashed, and he leaned against the wall, completely casual. "Because you, Ms. Wren, are talented, and a Mandalorian on top of that. I don't want to see any such skilled members of our race extinguished like the Separatists- wiped from the Galaxy effortlessly, with all you've stood for, all your battles and conquests rendered meaningless. You're far, far better than that."

"So, you'd rather I waste my talents trying to direct your clueless bucket-heads to go against the people I fight for." Sabine snorted and shook her head, while Morden smiled ever so slightly at the jibe to his soldiers.

"They can be bumbling idiots," he surprised Sabine by acknowledging that, "but when they are amassed into an army of millions, with respectable commanders controlling their moves, they turn into a formidable force. Far more so than whatever scraps your organization manages to pull together, and far more organized- though you wouldn't know about that, would you."

It wasn't a question. It wasn't an inquiry, or an attempt to get information out of her- Morden was simply bringing it up that Sabine... didn't actually know anything about the rest of their forces. Or, indeed, if they _had_ any forces beyond Hera's 'Fulcrum'... It made her pause and bite her lip. The Imperial noticed.

"I'm guessing you don't actually know anyone beyond this ship that fights alongside you as a security measure. It is effective, most definitely- if I were to try and pry for information out of you, you wouldn't be able to tell me anything about the topics I want to know. But it must make trusting these people very difficult."

 _No- I've already gone through this drama before. I'm not going to let him use that as leverage._ "I trust my crew with my life- but I know from experience that the Empire cares for their members only as much as they're worth. None of you would die for another, and that's something that always has and always will disgust me about you."

Morden shrugged. "We wouldn't have to die for one another if there weren't rebels to fight against. But that's not the path I wish to guide you down."

"Guide me down? Ha! You think you're some, some _mentor_ to me?" The very idea Sabine would ever allow him to teach her was ludicrous- and he was extremely arrogant if he automatically assumed that their differences in age meant he was her natural tutor.

"Tell me, how much of the Mandalorian culture do you remember? Quite a lot, I'd assume, as you've only left Mandalore a few years ago- but how much of that culture and those practices have you been able to pursue? How much have you lost from your home in order to conform to this... ship?"

Sabine stayed quiet for a second, looking at Morden and analyzing him. He genuinely seemed to care about the Mandalorian practices, and wasn't just using it as an advantage in the conversation. She wasn't _quite_ sure whether or not to feel patronized at the question, though... but she _was_ insulted at the hesitation to call the _Ghost_ a full-blown ship.

"Individual little rituals? No, I don't practice those- but at least _I'm_ staying loyal to my family. To my clan- you've just gone and sworn your allegiance to the bigger power, instead of proudly standing tall with your brethren. Who's sacrificing the greater parts of our Code of Honor?" Sabine raised her chin and challenged Morden, the four Canons of Honor- the pillars upholding their entire code, which all Mandalorians had been taught from birth -resonating and reverberating in her head.

Morden looked at the floor, shaking his head slightly. "Oh Ms. Wren. I have neither abandoned the Code nor my clan- it is you I wonder whether you stay true to your family or not."

Sabine bristled. "You fight for those who would _destroy_ you _and_ your clan- I fight with my _family!_ " Sabine flung out a hand to point at her unfinished portrait on the wall. Morden just smiled softly at her.

"You and I both know they aren't your family, Ms. Wren." And suddenly, she didn't like the knowing look in his eyes at all. _He's not talking about..._

"They _are_ my family- any one of us would fight and die for each other, and nothing you can say could _ever_ get me to forget that."

Morden shook his head. "These rebels are not your _family_ \- they're the closest substitutes you could find. You haven't been able to search for your _real_ family _because_ you chose to ally with the rebellion." _No one knows where they are, it'd be impossible for_ anyone _to locate them- they're, they're hiding until_ they _decide to reveal themselves. It's not our fault._

"Sabine," the use of her first name shocked her, "how long has it been since you've seen your family? Or any remnants of your clan?" There was sympathy in those icy eyes, and it threw Sabine off edge. Morden must have mistaken her silence as an invitation to go on, as he did just that. Sabine could've interrupted him, _should_ have stood tall and remained proud, stopped him talking... but she didn't.

"You know you won't ever be able to find them with the resources you have now. You won't even hear a whisper of their existence until either you all are called into the Manda or you've completely eradicated the Empire- a task you've surely realized could never be accomplished in your lifetime. If you take up my offer, however..." he paused, clearly gauging her reaction before continuing. "I can help you to find them. To see them again. Don't you want to be with your parents again... with your brother...?"

Sabine swallowed thickly.

 _Is he doing okay? It's been so long since I've seen Kei... or mom and dad... I don't even have the faintest clue on if they're still_ alive _or not..._

"I'm not asking you to betray your crew, Sabine, and I ask no information from you. All I want is to prevent a fellow Mandalorian, one not afraid to use their talents, from fading into oblivion in a hopeless cause. I want to keep the Mandalorian name one to be displayed with pride... take the opportunity I'm giving to you to _find_ your _family_ and to ensure that the reputation of your clan is not one of cowardice or dishonor, instead one of loyalty and strength... let yourself become the mighty Mandalorian every member of our race was truly born to be."

 _"Mission accomplished, o' mighty Mandalorian."_

 _"Unique miracles from the uniquely mighty Mando."_

 _"A promise is a promise, o' Mighty Mando."_

 _"Risk the wrath of the Mighty Mando? Never."_

 _Ezra..._ Sabine blinked as the image of his eyes flashed before her own. Always full of hope, always determined, always smiling no matter the absurdity of the situation... _What would he think, if he saw me consider Morden's offer?_ And her doubts erased themselves.

She stood tall, squaring her shoulders and looking at Morden with pride. "I don't need you to help me find my family, Morden. I put my trust- my faith, my hope, my belief -in the surrogate family I've made to help me find them. I'll never give up and force suffering onto billions and billions of innocents, just because it's easier to fulfil my own goals. I'm not that selfish- and no Mandalorian ever should be."

It was truly an ugly look that was morphed onto Morden's face, the one that her words had summoned. Honestly, Sabine wasn't too scared of it, though she was well within her limits to be. He was positively armed to the teeth, and she had nothing but two paint sprayers on her.

But the vent panel above Morden had moved.

"Just how arrogant are you to think that you can prevail against the might of the Empire, or even _me_? You are weak, outnumbered, outclassed, unsupported, weaponless... you may be Mandalorian, but you can't use the Jedi's proclaimed Force or any other special power to aid you, and yet you still deem yourself powerful enough to take on forces you can't even envision in your _dreams_."

Sabine smiled as the vent panel withdrew itself. "True, I can't use the Force- but I don't need to. I have someone who'll gladly use it for me."

Morden frowned at the same time Ezra's gloved hand darted from the open vent, fingers splayed wide. The Imperial's head snapped back to hit the wall with an audible _'bang'_ , and Sabine darted forwards, raising her paint sprayer and quickly marking a stripe of green across his eyes. Morden cried out as the paint blinded him, that and the disorientation from his abrupt meeting with the wall making him stumble. The oddly shaped lightsaber dropped from the vent and Sabine caught it, swiftly aiming and firing at the quickly recovering Morden.

The stun-bolt hit right as Morden was drawing his blaster, making the Mandalorian jerk and spasm before falling onto his knees, groaning. Sabine hit him once more and he collapsed, clattering to the ground without another word. A few seconds of silence followed, where she kept wide eyes on the Imperial, unconvinced he was actually unconscious...

"D'you get him?" Came the call from the vents, leading Sabine to blink and smile slightly as she took in the situation.

"Yeah... he's out cold."

The both of them sighed in relief, and Sabine slumped down onto the floor, using the wall as a support and Morden in her sights. Well, she'd needed a miracle, and this time Ezra had only been to happy to deliver. She frowned.

"Do you need help?"

Usually he'd be out of the vents by now- her gaze snapped up to the open vents as he remained quiet for a few more seconds. He shouldn't have been moving around, not with his back still recuperating. Sabine realized she actually didn't know what'd happened to her companion; he wouldn't just be up in the vents for no reason.

"Well... no, hold on, I just need to... to get in the right position." There was a smattering of small noises from the vents as Ezra presumably did just that. Sabine, looking at Morden and assessing he wouldn't be up in a while yet, turned her focus to her partner's feet and lower torso as he slowly lowered himself from the ventilation system.

"It looks a lot worse than it is, trust me," he warned as he dropped from the ceiling, wobbling slightly as he hit the flooring. Sabine pursed her lips as he half-smiled at her, staring at the blood going down the left side of his face. "It's nothing, really- I just didn't see the bucket-heads til they hit me. Though they didn't have so much of an advantage when I woke up..."

Against her bidding, Sabine's lips twitched upwards. She pressed them together to try and keep the smile at bay, but the amused visage remained, making Ezra blink at her.

"What?"

She shook her head. "You're just... something special. You took out the stormtroopers?"

Ezra looked her up and down before responding, but then nodded. "Yeah... I think I came too quicker than they thought I would, because there weren't very many, and they weren't very prepared. If it tells you anything my lightsaber was within grabbing distance- though I guess my version of 'grabbing distance' is a little extended..." he quirked a smile for a second, but then shrugged. "We were outside the _Ghost_ , and I think they were waiting for Morden to come out and join them, because they weren't paying _any_ attention to me. A few more stormtroopers came out though," _those must've been the ones Morden sent out when we first got started,_ "and they weren't really happy their buddies were out of it, but in the end they're just bucket-heads."

Sabine looked back at Morden, their talk echoing in her head.

"Yeah... I guess that's all they'll ever be." She snapped her gaze back to him. "Now sit down and don't even _think_ of moving that back; I gotta find the med-kit so I can fix you up."

Ezra blinked, and then his eyes flicked over to the opposite wall. "Even with your unfinished painti-"

"CABIN!"


	32. The Best Consolation

**Hello all- a thousand apologies for the delay! Following the return to school I had become terribly ill, and not the 'stay-at-home-watch-tv' ill, oh no. The 'I-might-actually-just-spend-three-days-in-a-row-in-bed' ill. I am on the mend, and it is the eve of a three-day weekend, so there will most probably be a following chapter _shortly_ after this... and then this story might very well end. There's not too much more I can think of adding here without drawing this out needlessly- bloating it, some would say. So most likely one or two more chapters and then... It'll all end.**

 **Rest in peace, David Bowie and Alan Rickman. You both will be sorely missed.**

* * *

It had been as she was trying to apply a bacta-patch to the cut on a stubborn Ezra's head that Chopper had come wheeling in, beeping energetically about the sight of an unconscious, bound and disarmed commander Morden in their hold greeting him as he'd come out of his charging station. As caught up in events as she had been, Sabine had actually forgotten all about the astromech droid- and it had been with extensive amusement that both she and Ezra explained what had happened in the time he'd been unaware. Of course, they'd had even _more_ fun analyzing the looks on the rest of their crew's faces when they'd returned from their outing.

Sabine had attempted to get Ezra to once again stay in his cabin, but the both of them had agreed that Morden needed watching, unconscious or not. The both of them would have happily delegated that job to Chopper, but they could never be too cautious. Sabine had been regretting leaving her painting still unfinished, but there just wasn't much she could do about that. Ezra had made it clear he was staying there, and if she knew him at all, she knew that he would require supervision if expected to stay still.

 _And there's no way in the galaxy I'm leaving him alone with Morden._

Not because she thought he couldn't take care of himself- just that right now, she wasn't going to take his injuries lightly. And, of course, Morden's talents, even though he _was_ bound and disarmed. Underestimating an opponent led to defeat, and Morden was _not_ someone to be underestimated.

And so, the three Spectres were in the cargo-hold (where they had unofficially assigned Morden's holding spot to be, both for security and art-related reasons) when they heard the _Phantom_ rumbling by and dock in its established slot. Both humans felt relief sink into their bones as Chopper went ahead to greet the other half of their crew and inform them of the situation- neither of them enjoyed being alone with an Imperial squad, even if they were all unconscious.

It didn't really surprise them that Kanan came down from the hatch first. "We saw the stormtroopers from the _Phantom_ \- everyone alright?" He called, even before he'd fully started down the ladder. Sabine could only share an amused grin with Ezra, the both of them sitting on the floor and leaning on the wall opposite from Morden, before Kanan was fully down the ladder and Zeb was on his way.

"Chopper only said there was a surpri-" Kanan stopped dead, his worried gaze switching from both Sabine and Ezra to the unconscious Imperial across from them. He blinked a couple of times and seemed to want to say something, but his mouth only opened and closed repeatedly until Zeb beat him to the chase.

"Oh come on- _you_ guys got 'im? This was supposed to be _our_ mission."

Ezra shrugged his shoulders. "What can ya say? You just weren't quick enough, we decided we'd be better." Sabine smirked, and Zeb snorted, a smile just visible behind his eyes.

"Cocky little brats,"

"Smelly hairless Wookie,"

"Puny little Lothrat,"

"Gigantic glorified monkey,"

"You guys are unbelievable," Kanan shook his head in bewilderment, looking at both Lasat and human in turn. Sabine snorted and stood up, extending a hand to help Ezra. He grunted his thanks, and then Kanan rubbed his eyes and exhaled deeply. "Just what happened? And you didn't answer my earlier question."

"We're fine," Sabine assured, "everything okay on your end too?"

Kanan nodded silently and Zeb huffed. "Couldn' find Morden anywhere- probably because of whatever you guys did with 'im, but it drove _us_ up the wall. Hera was close to just taking out the entire transport, Morden or no."

"That's an exaggeration," Kanan commented, "though she _was_ pretty frustrated. She should be taking off soon as well- if there are stormtroopers here that means more of them know our position, so we're going to relocate. But what-" he shook his head again, gesturing helplessly to Morden, who still had yet to stir. "I mean, he was- what happened?" Sabine pressed her lips together as she saw the smirk develop on Ezra's face.

"We rejected a welcome-home party. How much more obvious can it get?"

* * *

" _Thank you,_ Ghost- _Commander Morden will indeed be very useful. We already have an area prepared for him onboard, we can assure you he will be well secured._ " Hera nodded, more to herself than to the comm unit, she suspected, and turned around to quirk an eyebrow at Sabine- she was standing in the doorway of the cockpit, pursing her lips slightly as the Twi'lek affirmed the transfer of their most recent guest with Fulcrum.

 _Someday,_ someday _we'll meet Fulcrum. Maybe not now... but someday._

"That's a relief to hear- just make sure your men are well prepared. _Ghost_ out." Hera clicked off her communicator, keeping her gaze on Sabine. "Everything alright?"

She nodded. "Yeah, yeah... Kanan's taking Morden duty. You might want to head down there to oversee transfer, make sure nothing happens and everything goes to plan." Hera nodded, pulling herself up and out of her pilots' chair and keeping an inquisitive gaze on Sabine.

"I was about to head down there anyway- are you alright? You've seemed a bit subdued ever since we got back." Sabine blinked. _I have? I have, haven't I._ Not entirely her fault... even if she was resolute in her cause and direction, Morden had brought up... some thought-provoking points.

"I've just been doing some thinking, is all." Hera raised an eyebrow, inviting her to tell more but not expressly asking. Sabine smiled gently, knowing that she honestly didn't need help this time- she wasn't confused about anything, more like she just needed to settle down once more. Hera nodded after a second, accepting that Sabine wanted to work on her own this time, and snorted after a second.

"It seems like no matter what commands I give you, neither you nor Ezra will _ever_ stay out of a mission. Or trouble, for that matter." Sabine smirked slightly, shrugging.

"We couldn't really help Morden coming here, but I guess it must've felt pretty strange coming home to your target." Hera nodded, her lips pressing together momentarily.

"Not to mention a little frightening- the both of you weren't in your top condition, and we already know Morden's a league above other Imperials. When we saw those stormtroopers outside, the first thought that came to us was that you two were in some major trouble- it's not too hard to imagine all of the 'what-ifs' that could've happened while we were gone."

Sabine laughed hollowly, the same scenarios having also played in her head multiple times. Really, they had just been lucky. "Well, we don't have to worry about those now- all we need to focus on is the present."

Hera smiled softly, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder as she headed out of the cockpit. "It's nice to hear that from you, Sabine." The Twi'lek left the small room, heading to the hangar to oversee the transfer of their latest Imperial prisoner. Sabine herself staid, knowing that just like with Tseebo, anything related to the mysterious Fulcrum or his forces was to be kept under wraps, except for Hera.

 _Might as well be for the best- I don't think I want to deal with a conscious Morden again._ Not just because of the dangers he posed to both her and her crew... but also because she wouldn't be able to stand him bringing up the issues she'd been mulling over since they'd had their talk.

Hera left, and Sabine stayed still in the silence, gaze on the docked ship through the viewport but seeing something else. _I'll see them eventually... I hope._

* * *

It was often a night that Ezra retired late- he was used to sleeping only when the streets were mostly silent, so it wasn't so odd that he'd be one of the last people to get to his cabin and sleep.

Sabine was up.

Doing what he wasn't sure, but he was _pretty_ sure she wasn't painting... though he wasn't too sure on how his newly discovered bond with her worked, he wasn't really getting the 'painting' vibes from her that he'd gotten before. To be fair though, he had to concentrate pretty hard to just access that slight connection. There was no telling if he was actually 'reading' it right or not... but it did make him curious.

 _I'm pretty sure Hera won't mind if I stretch my legs a little..._ A small excursion surely wouldn't be too much for him. He'd been 'resting' ever since they'd gotten back from the tower, and especially after their encounter with Morden, he was restless to move. This was as good an opportunity as ever, and it wasn't like walking was a strenuous activity.

 _I hope._

Ezra slowly slipped out of Zeb's bunk, their sleeping arrangements currently swapped. The Lasat just looked awkward hunched up in the top bunk, but Ezra wasn't really worried about it- he _was_ thankful that he was allowed the bottom bunk. As itching to be back to normal as he was, he didn't want to go and start straining himself more than necessary just yet. Climbing up to the top bunk could only end in tears, he was sure.

Planting his feet down onto the metal flooring, Ezra slowly straightened, registering the pulls of the skin on his back and noting the levels of discomfort he felt in doing so. _Yeah, a walk'll be just fine._ Mouth twitching into a half smile, Ezra padded through the room exiting the cabin and softly making his way through the corridor.

 _Her cabin? No... up on the top._ They'd landed back on Lothal, after transferring Morden, in a _rather_ remote location so as not to encourage stormtroopers from following their Commander's lead. Hera and Chopper both had made extensive scans to discover any tracking devices Morden might have planted, but it seemed that the Imperial hadn't had any time to plant one, because their searches had turned up nothing.

Ezra walked through the halls towards the exit ramp slowly, taking it easy. He _was_ still capable of taking care of himself, and he still made decent time. He wasn't that surprised to see Sabine out in the grass, sitting loosely and looking up at the sky. It was clear, mostly, with only a few bruised clouds blotting small patches of starlight.

"You should be resting," Sabine called out softly, not moving from her position. Ezra smiled lightly and made his way down the rest of the ramp.

"You don't sound like you expect I will," he observed, slowly lowering himself down to sit beside her.

"I know you won't, now that you've come out here," she said back, and Ezra found himself agreeing with her. No way was he going back to his cabin now- besides, he felt like talking with Sabine. She'd been a little distant ever since Morden- Ezra knew the two of them had been talking, otherwise they would have been fighting when Ezra had arrived, but he was clueless on what. Obviously something important.

They stayed that way for a few seconds, in which Ezra tried to focus on the sky but couldn't help shooting a few furtive glances at Sabine. He stopped when he saw her smirk at him.

"What did-" he started, but clamped down on his mouth at the thought that whatever she and Morden had talked about, it was obviously important enough to make her withdraw like she had- and not the 'I'm-painting-don't-disturb-me' withdraw either.

"Morden asked me to work for him," Sabine saw through him anyways, and it took Ezra a second to frown.

"He tried to recruit you?" He clarified, the concept strange to him. Any Imperial would know Sabine was a devoted rebel- Morden especially, he actually had some intelligence.

"Trust me, I thought it made as much sense as you, at first." A tingle of unease swept through him, and Ezra cast a worried eye on the Mandalorian next to him. Sabine must've noticed more than he intended her to, because she exhaled a quick laugh, shaking her head good-naturedly and smiling gently.

"I'm not thinking of defecting, trust me," she reassured, and Ezra quirked his own smile.

"I wasn't thinking _that_ , you just kinda worried me there." They both fell silent again, but Ezra bit his lip gently. After a few moments, he quietly asked, "But what did you mean, at first?"

Sabine blinked slowly, her eyes still on the stars but her gaze somewhere else. Ezra let herself have her silence, fidgeting slightly next to her. She bowed her head and a blank look stole over her hazel eyes- in all his time with her, _blank_ had never been a word to describe Sabine.

"He-" she pressed her lips together, looking down at the dry grass. "He offered to find my family."

Wind blew their hair in different directions, snatching Ezra's attempt at a response and flinging it over the empty plains. He was left with an open mouth and a suddenly absent stomach. He knew how much weight such a statement- such an _idea_ -held. Living without his for so long had given him an insight to such things... and though he relished any chance to understand what Sabine was going through, he hadn't expected understanding to be so... thorough.

What would his response be, if Kallus had made the same offer?

Another lengthy silence enveloped the two of them, where Ezra mulled over what Sabine had revealed and the Mandalorian herself fiddled with the grass. Ezra couldn't honestly say _what_ he'd do if his parents could be found. Kanan- the entire _Ghost_ crew had become a family to him, and he would _never_ abandon them, but his parents...

Ezra blinked.

His parents were missing _because_ of the Empire. Sabine's family was in hiding _because_ the Empire had tried to use them against her. It hadn't been through some roundabout accidental repercussion, either- in both their cases, their families had been hunted on _purpose_. Deliberately.

"If you let the Empire lead you to your family," Ezra began, surprising himself with how sticky his tongue felt in his mouth, "they would only have taken them prisoner. Or- or worse."

"I know what would happen if the Empire found my family," Sabine said softly, drawing her knees up to her chest. "Trust me, I don't want anything to do with them, no matter _how_ organized they might be." When she didn't say anything after that, Ezra pressed his lips together, briefly wondering if he should keep her going. _I'm not just going to sit here and let this stay unfinished,_ he resolved; if whatever was bothering her wasn't brought out into the light, it would be pressed down underneath the surface and left to stew, something to blow up later in the future. Ezra knew _that_ from experience.

"But...?" He prompted, and he saw the conflict battle across Sabine's face. Speak, or bottle up?

"I just- it's been a long time since I saw them. _Thought_ about them, really... I just... push those thoughts down whenever they come up." Ezra nodded brusquely. He was all too familiar with _that_ as well. "But now... I can't really help but wonder if- _when_ I'll... if I'll see them ever again." Sabine lowered her forehead onto her knees, and Ezra say the faintest hint of a humorless smile on her face. "I'm not really used to missing things."

Ezra looked up at the star-filled sky. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, letting the both of them absorb and adjust to all that had transpired between them. A grim uplift to the corners of his mouth transfigured his blank expression when he realized he'd gone through what Sabine was describing before... he was still going through it now. He swallowed thickly as all his doubts about seeing his parents again resurfaced; all his fears of never seeing them came back to life. _How did I deal with all this beforehand?_

He hadn't- he'd buried it all away, locked it in, let it stew; had let it slowly eat him away from the inside until his barriers were so thin they'd broken at the sight of Tseebo on that one Empire day. Ezra slowly opened his eyes, brow furrowing in a faint frown. _So what's changed between then and now?_ The answer, of course, was obvious.

Kanan.

Ezra drew into himself, mirroring Sabine but with a genuine small smile. After what had happened on that asteroid, Kanan hadn't let him escape into his bunk without his own form of consolation- something which at the time Ezra had tried to push away, but now could see had probably been one of the things to keep him from breaking. Kanan had gotten him to talk- admittedly, Ezra hadn't said everything, and he doubted he would for a very, very long time, but he had said most everything that mattered. He'd gotten a chunk of his fears off his chest, had confided in what was bothering him- and he had no doubt that had saved him from an ungodly melt-down in the turret later on.

So, literally, the best consolation for this situation was... to be consoled. Ezra could have laughed that the obviousness of it, but it would have been extremely rude. Not that he _usually_ cared, but this was something serious.

"Sabine-"

"I shouldn't have said that;" the Mandalorian interrupted, making Ezra frown and look over at Sabine only to recoil slightly when he saw the regret there, "I know you have it a lot worse than I do." _That_ actually drew a snort from him, which in turn made Sabine look up with a frown.

"Family's something no one should be without; it doesn't matter if they've been away a day, a year or ten. As far as I'm concerned, we're in the same boat here. Well. Same ship." Sabine cast a glance back towards the _Ghost_ , biting her lower lip and relaxing slightly.

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense."

Ezra looked her dead in the eyes, and he registered the slight surprise in them that he'd turned so serious so fast. "Sabine, we'll find our families." There- the slight pinch to her eyes, the near invisible tautness of her forehead. She was genuinely worrying about this- which meant Ezra knew exactly where to start consoling.

 _Kanan and Hera both make this look way too easy._

"Sure, we really don't have a whole lot in the way of resources, or credits, or manpower... but we have enough drive, and hope, and just stubbornness in general to make up for all of that." He let the upper corner of his mouth move upwards. "Not to mention at least two crazy-good hackers and the best teamwork in the entire galaxy." The smile faded and became a determined gaze. "I honestly have no idea where my parents are- neither do you. But we can't give up hope; they're out there somewhere, and we don't need anyone else to come along and distract us with 'help'. We'll get there someday, the both of us. We just can't give up on them, or ourselves. Right?"

Sabine stared at him, eyes wide and glossy. It slightly weirded him out that she seemed to be looking at something specific in his face- but what disturbed him _more_ was that she looked on the verge of tears.

 _Uh- did I say something wrong!? There wasn't anything too bad in there, what's going-_

She drew in a breath like she was about to say something, closed her mouth, swallowed thickly, and then Ezra was trying to figure out just what had happened, because _no one_ could engage in a hug that quickly.

"Right," Sabine whispered, and Ezra pushed down his shock at the sudden close contact to wrap his arms around her as her own grip on him tightened. He felt the slightest bit of relief that she'd kept her hold higher than his mid-back, so that they could share this with minimal pain. But then Ezra heard the faintest 'ping!', and realized there were tears running down his face and Sabine's armor.

 _I guess this comforting stuff goes for the both of us, then,_ he thought, squeezing Sabine and burrowing his head in her shoulder as she did the same.

"We'll get there," he repeated, leaning into the hug for both of their sakes, "we just can't give up."

 _We'll find you, mom, dad. We'll find everyone._

"We'll get there."


	33. The Mural

**Short, but meaningful is what I'd like to call this chapter- much like our blueberry himself :3. Sadly, however, the next is the last chapter in the Signs- and I'd like to preemptively thank all of you, just for reading and sticking along with me and the story so far. You're all amazing!**

 **Disclaimer: See, at this point I really, _really_ wish I owned Star Wars, just because I'd be making enough money to go and see TFA as many times as I want. It's been a month and I'm still seeing it whenever I can.**

* * *

Sabine stepped back, hopped down from the Dejarik table, and looked at her master-piece. A slow, small smile grew on her face as she finally, finally deemed it complete. _It just took a near-death experience and a few weeks,_ she thought dryly, remembering she'd been trying to even _start_ this since before their initial op on Morden's tower.

The Mandalorian took a deep breath, and found her chest light and unburdened. She smiled softly as she moved towards the eating galley, knowing that the newfound untroubled feeling wasn't just a result of _finally_ finishing her mural. The talk with Ezra had... cleared away a lot of her doubts, a lot of fears. He'd just... they'd both _connected._ He seemed to understand exactly what had been bothering her.

She had no doubt it was because he'd been through the same thing.

The doors opened to the eating galley, revealing a bored Lasat eying the remains of a nutri-bar dubiously. Zeb looked up at her with a raised eyebrow as she moved to fetch a cup of caf; she had been painting for the majority of the day, finally having her passion revitalized, and so needed at least _some_ form of a pick-me-up. Miracle-juice would do.

"You finished?" Zeb asked, leaning back in his seat and seemingly ignoring the nutri-bar. Sabine nodded absently, drawing her cup closer towards her as she waited for her caf to finish heating. She heard an amused snort, and turned around to face the smirking Spectre. "Maybe you can quit hugging the commons now," he joked, and Sabine shrugged good-naturedly. She _had_ been kind of blocking the rest of the crew from using the recreational room, and had only let them pass to the eating galley with a stern eye, ensuring that they kept their own firmly situated away from 'her' wall. Especially when it was so close to completion.

"You are free to come and go as you please," she proclaimed, smiling tiredly and pouring a fair amount of steaming caf into her cup. Zeb unfolded himself from the booth, completely ignoring the half finished nutri-bar and moving past her into the commons. Sabine darted over and snatched the nutri-bar, nibbling on a corner and deeming it edible.

 _And now,_ _I can sit back, relax..._ Sabine smiled slowly, gaze flickering over to the commons door. _Or I can gauge their reactions._ She was very, _very_ proud of this piece. Not just because it looked good or anything like that (though it did; it was one of her best), but because of the _meaning_ behind it. Truly, pictures told a thousand words, but this one... she felt it described _them_. As a team- as a family.

 _Because everyone here's family; not just by blood, but bond. And we'll all take care of each other's bonded_ and _blooded family members... no matter what._

Sabine didn't think she could make that any clearer with what she had produced, and was actually intrigued with how the rest of the crew would interpret it- but as she exited the galley, caf and nutri-bar in hand, she didn't expect to see the reaction on Zeb's face. Gruff and tough as he was, a gentle smile wasn't the first expression she'd think to pin him with.

"What do you think?" She asked, slinking up next to the Lasat and looking fondly at her creation. He snorted gently, eyeing each aspect in turn; the smile turned a little lopsided, but still genuine.

"I think this was well worth the wait, 'Bine."

"And the others?"

"Oh they'll love it."

* * *

Ezra knew she'd finished once a calm, quiet pulse resonated through their bond. His eyes opened once he felt that small, seemingly insignificant nudge, and his previous concentration dissipated- but not before he felt the satisfaction.

 _She must be really happy with it, then._

"Stay still; you were doing so well before..." Kanan lamented, and Ezra saw his frown on the edge of his vision.

"Sorry."

"No you're not."

"No, I'm not. You done yet?"

Kanan shifted next to him, and Ezra shivered as the filtered air brushed his bare back. "Just about. It's been healing nicely, so I think you just need a bacta patch..." Ezra perked up, excited at the idea of no more clunky bandages wrapped around his entire torso, "As long as you _keep it easy_ and don't _aggravate your back._ " The excitement toned down a notch.

"I got it, I got it..." Kanan actually leaned into his field of vision just to let Ezra see his raised eyebrow, which he countered with one of his own. "It's not like you guys'll let me do anything that has the remotest chance of _maybe_ scratching anything even _related_ to my back, so I don't really have a choice here, do I?"

The Jedi smirked and shook his head gently, pulling back to finish his 'operation' on what was left of the blaster-bolt Morden had hit him with. Honestly, though he acted (and was) impatient to get it all over with, Ezra was just as glad as Kanan and Hera that a., he'd even survived, and b., that the shot hadn't hit a spot that could've damaged his spine. In that regard, he was lucky the pack he'd had on had absorbed some of the damage; if it hadn't he would've been just that much worse for wear.

"We're just trying to keep you and all your parts intact, you know."

"Yeah, I know." Ezra buried his head in Zeb's bunk, as assaulting as the smell was, allowing Kanan better access to a _still_ work surface. For a little bit, anyways. Face sufficiently hidden and muffled, he murmured a quiet "Thank you," and felt rather than saw Kanan's small smile.

The bacta-patch was cool, and admittedly _did_ feel nice against his charred skin. Hera was hopeful that they could prevent a scar from forming, and if they couldn't, it would be a small one. Ezra honestly didn't care one way or the other, just as long as he could move around soon.

"That should be it, so other than the standard 'be _careful_ 's, I guess just... don't make it worse?" Ezra tilted his face out of the mattress, asking with his eyes rather than talking, and Kanan rolled his eyes with a smile. "Go on, go run about like you young people do." Ezra grinned, sitting up rapidly and darted his hand out to fetch his shirt and accompanying layers. Kanan stood up and popped his back, eyeing the bed above them both.

"Do you feel up to moving back into your bunk?"

" _Ye-_ "

" _Think_ first, answer second, please," Kanan smirked, and Ezra sighed dramatically in response. Honestly though, he wanted to get back to normal- _though normal might not be the norm anymore,_ he thought, interpreting another small burst of emotion from Sabine but not having the concentration to actually pinpoint what it was. He smiled, softly. _For either of us._

"I'll be fine, Kanan, I do know _not_ to keep pushing when it hurts."

The Jedi shrugged good-naturedly. "Sometimes it's a little hard to tell. But Zeb'll be happy, he's been saying your bunk is stiffer than his..."

"Trust me, he's not the only one happy; he can _take_ his plushy bunk, I don't want to wake up with anymore fur of his on my personal person than necessary. This is way. More. Than necessary."

Kanan shook his head. "I swear, the both of you make it out like the other is the worst bunkmate in the galaxy..." Ezra shrugged, smirking slightly as he finished dressing. It felt nice to not have the thick wrappings around his torso, and the bacta-patch radiated a certain level of comfort he found relaxing.

"Natural talent- now come on, I think Sabine's finally done with her painting!" Ezra bounded out of his bunk, moving a little awkwardly as to not pull his back but still moving through the halls with considerable speed. Just in case his instincts were wrong, however, and Sabine _hadn't_ finished her painting, Ezra looked down at the flooring as soon as the door opened. There was no harm in being cautious.

"Um, Sabine?" He heard a shuffling of multiple pairs of feet, and fought down the temptation to look at them- things could go horribly wrong if he did-

"Look up you Lothrat, she's done," came Zeb's chuckle, but Ezra whipped his head up automatically to defend himself, he found himself looking at two Lasats. He blinked, shook his head for a second, and then realized- one was standing there smirking at him, and the other was painted on the wall, grinning goofily.

Ezra's breath caught in his throat as he saw the entirety of Sabine's mural.

All of the _Ghost_ crew were depicted, Kanan and Hera on the left, him and Sabine on the right, Zeb in the middle and Chopper in front of the Lasat. Kanan and Hera were holding hands, smiling carefree and leaning into each other. Zeb stood to the right of Kanan, looping an arm around the Jedi's shoulders and another over Ezra's, standing next to him. Above them all was a sight Ezra didn't think he'd ever see again- he'd never even thought of it again until his late-night conversation with Sabine. A glittering moon hung bright over their heads, swirls shimmering inside of it until they formed one of Sabine's signature starbirds. Glistening arms reached out from it, spiraling around the moon and branching out, thinning, until they separated into the dozens of twinkling stars scattered about a blue-black sky. It was the moon-star hybrid he'd told Sabine about, the one from his dream- but it wasn't the most impactful thing she had painted on that wall.

Because the both of them were holding hands, as well- leaning into each other much the same as Kanan and Hera.

Sabine didn't paint without a message.

A warm hand encompassed his, and Ezra didn't even have to look to know whose it was. He tried to talk, to say _something_ that could convey a fraction of what he felt for this painting- for _her-_

"Thank you," she whispered into his ear, squeezing his hand ever so slightly, "for being you."


	34. You Don't Even Have to Ask

**And finally, to end it all off, a large collection of fluffy (and not so fluffy :}) bits and bobs from the rest of the timeline. Thank you all so much! I really couldn't ask for a better bunch of readers! Seriously, over four-hundred reviews, near two hundred follows/favs- truly, the support has been wonderful, and I couldn't ask for a better reader base.**

 **There are quite a few time skips, and towards the end Ezra and Sabine are actually in their early twenties. (so sad, so sad- mah babies are growing up!) Just to clear up any odd bits or misunderstandings- also, towards the _very_ end, there's a little sentence of researched Mandalorian. I was so proud when I found a Mandalorian dictionary... :3 Though I can't speak for the grammar.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: There are no words to express my gratitude to all of you, and neither are their words to convey my love for Rebels. There _are_ a few words to convey my ownership status- inactive. It never was. And that is all.**

* * *

No one was happy with Kanan's actions. They understood them, sure, and any single one of them would have done the same thing in his place in a heartbeat- but as it was now, they were very, very unhappy with the current turn of events.

Sabine could honestly say, that while she herself had taken the development like a punch in the gut... Ezra was taking Kanan's capture much, much harder than she was.

She'd tried, she really had, to take all their heads out of the slump they'd fallen into, and simply focus on getting him back. They were all trying, truly... But everything just felt off without the Jedi among them, helping to plan and mediating between minor skirmishes. Sabine had caught herself just staring at his likeness in her painting for long moments, and Ezra just flat out camping in front of it. They were all raring to go get him-

They just didn't have any information. At all. Not a single whisper or rumor as to where the Empire might have taken him, and slowly, bit by bit, Sabine could see the absolute _lack_ of ANYTHING chipping away at their resolve. It was similarly disenheartening to see one of the most energetic and hopeful crew members they had wither with each passing day-

Which was why when Ezra'd suggested his mad scheme to go to Vizago, she'd jumped right on board with him.

* * *

The relief Ezra had felt upon seeing Kanan- tired, strapped to a table, hurt and smelling slightly burnt but nonetheless _alive_ \- had been paramount. It really hadn't been too long since they'd seen each other, just a few weeks, but... it had felt a lot longer. A lot worse.

It'd also been a great relief and weight off his chest to see Hera smile (which she hadn't been doing a lot of lately) at the sight of him, and the two embracing in the middle of the hall. Their teases had never come into mind as the two of them finally, _finally_ reunited. Everything was back the way it should be; they were whole again.

But they very nearly hadn't been.

Ezra shivered as Sabine jogged over to help him out the hatch, remembering the cold sting of metal the catwalk had chilled him with, in stark contrast with the burning on his cheek. He'd felt himself flickering, then. Felt himself wavering, like he was in that little zone just before he fell asleep, only just aware of what was happening before plunging into the abyss. No wonder Kanan thought he'd lost him... Ezra had been thinking the same things.

Sabine extended a hand down to him, helping him up as Chopper rolled into the docking room. He had no doubt the Mandalorian didn't fail to see his wince- he was sore _everywhere_. But at the moment there were more pressing things at hand; injuries could and would be treated later. For now, he just appreciated the support she lent him as they moved from one end of the ship to the other.

He'd tell her everything later- for now, though, he was content to simply silently indulge in her assistance and take in everything else happening around them-

He was just glad they could do it all together.

* * *

Ezra didn't think his scars would ever heal. He'd never really thought they would, but now, after nearly two weeks and no signs of them going away, he was just about certain they'd _never_ leave.

 _Annoying. Now I can't ever forget how close the Inquisitor came to..._

Moving away from the mirror, Ezra stepped out of the fresher and headed down the hall. Sabine's room was always open to him, especially if he had an artistic idea for the Mandalorian- he was sure she'd jump at any opportunity to put her paint on his face.

"Hey, Sabine?" He called, entering her room and blinking at the brightened lights. She was crouching down in front of a wall, using her figners to smudge a small streak of blue, and Ezra cocked his head as she continued. It looked like she'd just started a new project, but he couldn't think of what she might be creating; there were only a few streaks of color that all looked like she'd smudged them as she was doing now. He snorted at the thought that she was finger painting.

"Hmm?" She responded, slightly turning her head in his direction but keeping her focus on her work. Ezra stepped into the room, sitting on her bunk and watching her work.

"Can you think of anything for my face?"

He grinned the same time her eyebrows furrowed, having drawn her full attention onto him with the oddly worded question. He was learning.

"Oh- your scars?" Ezra nodded, kicking his legs back and forth as she stood to look at him. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know- hide them, make them art, paint two more on the other side-"

"Like a Loth-cat?"

He blinked, suddenly aware she was grinning slyly. "Zeb'd have the time of his life if I did _that_."

Thinking about it, requesting her to add _more_ of his nickname's name-sake onto his visage would indeed lead to intense teasing. Not that that was a deal breaker or anything, but it wasn't like he wanted to encourage that kind of behavior. He shrugged, scratching his unmarred cheek with a finger.

"Okay, maybe not _another_ pair, but... something to balance it out?" Sabine nodded, pursing her lips and looking his face up and down. He smirked, and she rolled her eyes good naturedly.

"Well, there are a whole bunch of things I could do to cover them up, or take focus off of them, make them less distracting or whatever- but why would you want me to?"

Ezra frowned. "To... make me less conspicuous? Or noticeable?" Sabine raised an eyebrow at him.

"Oh yeah, because we're _totally_ inconspicuous as it is." She rolled her eyes. "Honestly, as much as stealth played a part in our missions before, I don't think we're gonna be doing too much of the same stuff, now that we're part of a cell. And even if we are gonna be doing stealth stuff, an extra mark wouldn't be doing too much to give you away."

He hummed, shrugging in assent and tracing the two lines on his cheek. "Maybe not... I just feel a little lopsided. And kinda marked, I guess."

"More so than with a lightsaber on your belt? Or, you know, a _highly_ recognizable Mandalorian next to you?"

"You know what I mean."

This time it was Sabine who shrugged, expression going thoughtful instead of teasing. "You don't really look half-bad with them, you know."

Ezra blinked. "Huh?"

"I mean, I'll paint on your face any day, and if you really want me to I'll do something about your scars, but... you're kinda cute with them." And she smiled, cocking her head as Ezra sat there dumbly. Of all the things she could've said, he didn't think she'd call him _cute_.

He touched the marks again. "Um, you think?" She hummed and nodded, flicking a strand of hair out of her eyes.

"Yeah. Besides, chicks dig the scars." Sabine smirked, and then there was a light peck on his forehead as she shooed him out of her room.

It wasn't until he was already out alone in the hall that he'd processed she'd kissed him.

* * *

Sabine knew something was wrong when _both_ Ezra and Kanan stopped. She'd picked up her pace loading the shield generators into the Imperial Lambda shuttle, knowing that something _bad_ was coming their way- until the figure in black made himself known, and by then the bad had already shown up.

She knew she wasn't able to take on a red-blade; she could hold her own against the Inquisitor, maybe, if she had her back up, but Force-wielders tended to have an edge in fights. However, she knew with the case of this one, cloaked in machinery and heavy black armor, backed by a squad of stormtroopers, was different. Whoever this guy was, he certainly held a higher level of skill than the Inquisitor.

So, at first, when presented between him and the stormtroopers as targets, Sabine motioned to Zeb that he, too, should focus on the foot soldiers instead of the commander. Ezra and Kanan needed all of their focus to be on their opponent; she figured taking out the stormtroopers for them would be most beneficial. As the seconds dragged by and she saw the black menace fighting, however, she also realized that as skilled as their opponent was, he would most likely just _use_ whatever she and Zeb threw at him- bombs and bullets she had no doubt would be thrown back at Ezra and Kanan, doing more harm then good.

At that point, her confidence was wavering, but still there. It left once the Imperial threw Kanan the length of the docking bay, and Ezra into a pillar within the same set of seconds.

And then all but completely abandoned her when she realized it wasn't Ezra moving his lightsaber.

Her fingers stopped on the triggers, momentarily paralyzed as her eyes widened and heart stopped- the black menace was slowly forcing that thin blue line she'd only ever seen used for defense push closer and closer to Ezra's throat, his entire body pressed up against the leg of the walker without a viable escape route-

"Zeb!" She shouted, and tossed a grenade over at the Lasat. He could throw harder and higher than she could, and right now that was the only thing that she could do to help so she _did it._ She threw her own at the line of walkers behind the dark warrior, Zeb following up behind her, and Sabine couldn't press the detonator fast enough. As soon as she did, though, she was running- Ezra slid down the walker's leg, free of the warrior's grip as the collapsing walkers provided a large enough distraction. She saw Kanan stumbling from the wreckage, holding his shoulder, but he was moving, he was fine-

Ezra was up by the time she reached him, but Sabine still latched onto him anyways, adrenaline making her hands tremble. They were limping towards the Imperial ship when the flaming metal of her explosion's leftovers groaned- and lifted. Her helmet hid how white her face had gone when she saw the black menace standing there, lifting tons of metal, _perfectly fine-_

His cape wasn't even singed.

"Go go go!" Kanan shouted, just behind Zeb, and both she and Ezra picked up the pace double time. They didn't separate until they reached the mouth of the ship, where he immediately darted to Kanan and she spun around instantaneously, once again withdrawing her pistols from where she'd hastily holstered them. Her hands might be shaking, but that didn't mean she couldn't at least provide some cover fire while Hera got the ramp closed at took off-

She saw the bolts coming, deflected back at her at a speed she couldn't hope to dodge them at. The first struck her lower right torso, slamming the breath out of her lungs, but the second- the second hit her square in the helmet.

Maybe if she'd had breath in the first place the fall down to the deck would have hurt more, but as it was her head gave her the most heartache. Sabine was blinking groggily and trying to groan as she heard the hydraulics of the ramp hiss, and then there were hands and voices. She couldn't distinguish between any of them until she finally got a breath in.

"Sabine?! Sabi-"

" 'm fine," she coughed, opening her eyes and squinting past the lense on her helmet. Ezra slumped above her, visibly relieved, and Zeb turned away from them both- to Kanan, she realized absentmindedly.

Not one to sit idle, even injured, Sabine forced herself upwards, sucking in air through her teeth at the throbbing on both her ribs and forehead. It hurt; but it could have been much, much worse. Her armor had saved her life.

Sabine shifted over to look at Ezra, kneeling next to her with his head bowed, panting. His blue blade came to mind again, pressing ever closer to his throat-

"What was that?" Zeb snarled, his ears swiveling around, agitated. Frustrated. He and she both were useless against... _that_.

"That," Kanan spoke, still clutching his shoulder and wincing, "was something I'd prayed we'd never have to face. That was... that was a Sith Lord."

Ezra lifted his head, immediately locking eyes with her. "That was too close."

Sabine nodded, the humming blade again taking precedence in her mind's eye.

"Far too close."

* * *

The cold feeling that'd been chilling his gut ever since their arrival intensified once the woman activated her dual red lightsaber. He could feel the cold, invasive tendrils of cold oozing off of her, more restrained than the Sith they'd faced but still far, far too much for him to even _consider_ fighting as an option.

"An Inquisitor..."

If Sabine had been tense beside him beforehand, now she was triple.

"Oh good," the woman sighed, voice robotic and distorted as she prowled closer to them; Ezra ignited his blade, and Sabine drew her pistols closer to her body beside him, "I won't have to explain it to you. So. You know what comes next." The cold chill was numbing his bones, and Ezra resisted the urge to shiver as she drew nearer-

"Run!"

Sabine shouted, voice remarkably clear as she took a few pot shots at the hovering probe droids. Ezra knew she was right in this situation; he'd been no match against the last Inquisitor, and he didn't much feel like testing his luck against this new one. They turned and bolted down the hall, turning into a corner and hoping to zig-zag their way away from this creepy woman and her pack of droids.

She ignited a second red blade, making it spin, and Ezra would have groaned if it hadn't been their lives on the line. Like Kanan had said, it was never a fair fight.

"Where's Zeb and Chopper?" Sabine cried, hitting a few more red droid eyes with well-placed shots, and Ezra ducked into another corner, trusting her to follow where he felt the Lasat's energy signature from. If he'd had a fair chance to concentrate properly, he might have sensed the secondary generator of chilling power _before_ nearly running into him.

"Not who we're looking for!"

The two of them nearly stumbled in their haste to backtrack, Ezra's gaze slapped dead onto the woman's lightsaber as they turned, just ahead of her. Her already creepy visage was only amplified by the fact that she was, in fact, stalking them, not bothering to run or even move somewhat hurriedly. He and Sabine were powerless against both her and her backup, and she knew it.

Sabine _did_ groan when they came face to face with the closed door, and she immediately hooked herself into the interface beside it. Ezra slipped into his defensive stance as the woman turned the corner, prepared to do his best to protect Sabine while her back was turned-

"Go, go go go!" And then they were running again, desperately hoping and praying to put as much distance between them and the pair of Inquisitors as possible-

He felt the tug of the Force before his legs abruptly halted in their tracks, eyes going as wide as Zeb's waffles when he felt himself being dragged closer to the cold, cold Imperial.

"No!"

 _No don't turn around don't turn around WHY ARE YOU TURNING AROUND-_

"Sabine run!"

 _NOT TOWARDS ME NOT HERE GET_ OUT OF HERE-

There really wasn't any other choice for him, then. Ezra batted away the nearest probe droid and lunged for the door controls, only just managing to impale it before Sabine had gotten close enough for the woman to snatch her, too. He could hear her banging on the blast door, shouting; she was safe, though, and that was all that mattered.

"Such a noble act," the Inquisitor drawled, drawing out her words as she approached, keeping the suffocating invisible grip on his body. "Just like a Jedi."

Ezra smiled tightly as the probe droid attached to his shoulder tightened its grip.

"As long as it keeps you from hurting her, I'm perfectly fine with it."

-x-

 _Stupid, stupid, STUPID self sacrificing_ IDIOT-

Sabine bounded through the halls, snarling and cursing and slipping and praying that whatever happened Ezra didn't get himself killed by those pair of freaks-

"Zeb! Zeb, where-"

If Ezra's life wasn't at stake, she would have laughed at the sight of the Lasat stuck in the ceiling. As it was, she just tugged him down, hands shaking and heart beating painfully with each second. Her ears tricked her into hearing screams.

"Thanks, Sabi-"

"They have Ezra!"

Instantly Zeb was focused, ears swiveling forwards and eyes tightening. "There were- there were two Inquisitors, and they grabbed him, and one has probe droids, the other-"

"Woah woah woah, Inquisi _tors_!? Plural?"

"Plural! Come on, we have to get him back!" She'd sat around for weeks when one of their Jedi had been captured by an Inquisitor. She wasn't about to do the same this time. Not with Ezra. Not when she'd felt the ruthlessness of that woman vibrating through the air. Not when those two were obviously so much more powerful than they were.

Not ever.

* * *

"So, you were a bounty hunter?" Ezra kept his tone light, but his eyes were watching Sabine closely. She lay on her back, hands behind her head, staring up at the stars above them. She nodded.

"'s soon as I got away from the Academy, Ketsu 'n me joined up as bounty hunters. For her, I guess it was just something fun, but I... I guess I was hoping to find a bounty for my family. But I couldn't stand not... _doing_ anything. Joining the _Ghost_ crew felt like a way to actually start doing things that matter, felt like I could make a difference... That's why Ketsu and me had a falling out, among other things."

Ezra stayed quiet for a few seconds, then turned his gaze back up the sky. Late night excursions such as this had become somewhat of a past time for them; it just felt like they were able to open up more under the sky. Though he wasn't exactly fond of the following morning... Kanan seemed to be relentless in the times they started training. Something about Jedi joojoo, no doubt.

"How long were you two traveling together? You seemed to be pretty friendly. Afterwards, I mean. Not when you two were fighting. That wasn't very friendly. Kind of the opposite of friendly, actually. Maybe even-"

"You're rambling."

"Sorry."

He heard the amused snort, and smiled ever so slightly. He might not be the best at these sort of things, but anything that made Sabine a little happier was a victory for him. Not that she needed it exactly right now, but smiling while divulging the past was better than simply letting the words out.

"We were partners for a good while; maybe a little over a year. There really wasn't much time between the Academy and meeting up with Hera and the others."

"Oh, you measure time from that point, huh? 'S it that important?"

"Course it was. The _Ghost_ was a literal turning point for me. You too, so don't try acting all tough."

"Yeah yeah." Ezra wiped his nose with the back of his hand, smiling fondly at the memory of trying to steal the precious cargo Kanan and the others had _actually_ stolen.

Sabine sat up next to him, sighing slightly. "Honestly, bounty hunting wasn't really my thing. I guess I used it as a distraction... but now I can't see myself doing anything other than fighting alongside you guys."

He knew the feeling.

"Still, must've been a blast to the past to run across your old friend, huh? D'you think we'll see her again?"

"Why, you interested?"

"Why, you jealous?" He grinned at the slap on the back of his head.

"Maybe she'll come around to join the Rebellion, maybe not. Other than that, I don't really know. Though I don't really need to," Sabine smiled, shimmying her way over next to him, "as long as I've got your 'amazing' powers of 'prediction.'"

Ezra scowled at the tease. "Hey, I didn't know I was _sitting_ on the contact! No one would have thought it was that old thing. It's not my fault I wasn't as wizardy as usual."

Sabine snorted, shaking her head.

"Only mostly."

* * *

It was somewhat odd to be surrounded by people wearing armor; usually Sabine stood out quite a bit because she was the _only_ one wearing the defensive gear. In the lower levels of the crime syndicate on Garrel, however, half the population around her was wearing it as well, she didn't stand out too much.

Though she was willing to bet she was one of the few who had died it so expressively.

A quiet blip from her comm interrupted her thoughts, near immediately followed with Kanan's voice. " _There's Hera's signal- the target'll be heading out soon. Remember-_

"Weequay, red shoulder-pads, three braids. We remember, Spectre one. It's kinda what we're here for." Sabine rolled her eyes as Kanan's further grumblings rolled across, shifting on the rooftop. It struck her as odd when Ezra didn't add in his own teases; he was usually all up in that particular business affair.

" _Spectre six, are you in position?_ " Kanan asked across the channel, obviously noticing his apprentice's lack of a response as well. Sabine's stomach lurched when static was their only response.

" _Spectre six?_ "

"Ezra?"

A blaster bolt rang out through the square, and Sabine jerked in response to it. Gunshots weren't really too unexpected in these parts- but joined up with the sudden comm-silence from Ezra, it was too coincidental a situation.

"Spectre four, stay here for the Weequay- I'm going after Spectre six!"

Zeb protested loudly, but Kanan overid him, shouting to just get the Weequay, because Sabine was already running for the noise- and _everyone_ knew they weren't going to get her away from her goal. She knew she's probably get a huge lecture from Hera aftwerwards- but right now she was set.

More blaster fire shot out, this time accompanied with the distinct sound of a child screaming. Her worry spiked; they hadn't sounded older than ten, and a kid like that had _no_ business in the scummy districts of Garrel. Sabine swing around the corner of the street, drawing her blasters preemptively-

Ezra was rolling on the ground with an Aqualish twice his size, cursing and dodging hits as the both of them fought to come out on top. A small Bothan girl was sobbing behind them, slumped against the shadowed wall of a building and watching with wide eyes. Her clothing was ripped; most likely at the hands of the three unconscious men sprawled on the stretch of road between her and the grappling duo. Sabine pointed her blasters towards the alien, but both he and Ezra were moving too quickly for her to get an accurate aim.

A moment later, though, Ezra apparently decided he'd had enough. With a quick maneuver, he flipped off of the Aqualish, who grunted. Taking her chance, Sabine aimed quickly and fired off a shot, taking the man out with little more than a single bolt and a grunt from him.

Ezra blinked up at her, panting slightly, and blew a strand of hair out of his face with a puff of air. "Than-"

"Ora!"

Ezra's head snapped over to the little girl, who was perking her ears up uncertainly. Ezra made little shooing motions, making the girl hesitate, and then sprint away as fast as her furry legs could take her. Ezra puffed up his shoulders, frowning slightly and crossing his arms.

"I'm sorry I didn't- didn't stay in position, but they- and then my comm- and then she was screaming and they were laughing and I _couldn't_ just let it go, and, and they- I mean, what's the point of standing up against the Empire if we don't help the people? And-"

Sabine shook her head, smiling under her helmet, and holstered her pistols.

"Oh Ezra. You know I love you, right?" Sabine smirked. "You don't have to ap _ologize_ , I just got worried when you didn't respond. And we all got concerned when you weren't in position. This is-" she stopped talking when she noticed Ezra was looking at her really, really weirdly. It was almost a mix between confusion, concern, and sheer disbelief- and then he bluhed profoundly and looked in the other direction. "What?"

"Um, you just- you just, um, you said- you said you _l-_ " Ezra broke off with another blush, and Sabine blinked. She smiled slightly, half from legitimate reasons and half from amusement at how a few little words seemingly broke her partner.

"Come on, let's head back to get that Weequay."

He blinked and nodded, smiling like an idiot, and quickly started jogging to follow her. She thought she heard Zeb cackling in the distance; she figured it would be best to stop him from beating the thug to a bloody, bloody pulp sooner rather than later.

"Um, S-Sabine? I- um, I-"

"I know, Ezra."

* * *

Ezra stopped talking the moment he felt Sabine's gaze go from interested to amused. "What?" She smirked.

"You bonded... with a baby."

"A Force-sensitive baby!"

"A baby."

"Hey, it was easy to understand!"

"Oh really? Should I talk in goos and ga's now? Is that easier to understand?" Ezra scowled at the teasing look on her face, huffing and crossing his arms.

"Pypey was open and willing to connect, and I needed to bond with him to make him calm-"

"Goo."

Ezra blinked at the sudden coo, unsure exactly how the conversation had taken this turn and confused as to why- "Goo goo ga ga." Sabine was grinning ear to ear, raising her hands up and making crawling motions. "Wah wah, goo goo ga ga."

"Are you seriously-"

"Wah, ah, myeh myeh, wah,"

"Sabine-"

"Wah, wah wah,"

"Har har, very funny-"

"Goo!"

"Sabine!"

"GOO!"

"What did I do to deserve this?" He asked dramatically, throwing his hands up in the air in defeat. Sabine blew a raspberry at him, and Ezra groaned, planting his face in his hands. His gaze was pulled back up when a slightly lost 'um,' drew their focus to the door of the commons, where a confused looking Kanan was standing. He honestly didn't look like he knew what to make of the Mighty Mandalorian suddenly speaking baby.

Ezra let his smile take over his face at the look on his Master's, which only deepened into further confusion as Sabine tilted her head and cooed at him. Apparently deciding just not to bother, Kanan turned around and the door hissed shut behind him.

Ezra laughed. Sabine tackled him.

Apparently babies were vicious ticklers.

* * *

"Oh- they're calling back," Sabine looked up from her data-pad, Hera's proclamation enough to rouse her from the holonet article. She sat up straighter, drawing closer to the Dejarik table and feeling her stomach take a minor pitfall. Ezra- he was- _did he find them?_

Hera accepted the comm, her own face taunt with... not exactly worry, but anticipation. Kanan's image flickered into sight, and her hopes rose for a fraction of a second- until his expression filtered through. Grim, devastated, tired. He looked broken.

He looked like a man who'd watched his son go through hell.

Sabine felt her heart slowly, slowly sinking back down to its position in her chest. Kanan started talking, but she just shook her head and backed away. He- no. No, he couldn't- he was. He was telling Hera what they'd found. Sabine was focusing on what she couldn't see. The fact that Ezra wasn't- wasn't there with Kanan meant-

" _...his parents didn't make it._ "

She choked down a sob. She bit her trembling lip. Sabine went to her cabin, pressed herself against the wall, and sucked in her breath. His family was gone. He'd long since revealed his fear that they were so, but now that notion wasn't a fear. It was fact. Mira and Ephraim Bridger were gone... and they'd left their son on his own.

 _I'm so sorry, Ezra... You don't deserve this. You don't deserve this at all._

Sabine sank down to the floor, drawing her knees close and wishing she could be there with him. Just to offer support, or comfort, or some type of... of... _anything_ , now when he needed it the most- now, after near nine years of him hoping and praying secretly in the dark, now, when all those years of impractical hope were turned into a double-edged sword, when he needed her to stand up next to him...

"I'm so sorry, Ezra..."

* * *

He felt the little tug in his head; she was walking quietly, trying to keep her noise level down to not wake the rest of the crew, but the both of them knew Ezra himself hadn't been sleeping. For the past two days, actually.

"Hey."

He didn't respond, but shifted over slightly in the curved bench. She took his invitation, and he felt the cushiony fabric beneath him warp as she settled next to him. There was a moment of silence, in which Ezra was acutely aware of how dry his eyes felt. Besides Kanan, and the brief respite Leia had been able to provide... he hadn't really done anything to cope. He didn't really know how to do stuff like that.

Sabine took a deep breath beside him. "So. Now we know." Ezra swallowed, staring at the Dejarik board.

"Now we know."

Another beat of silence stretched between them. Ezra didn't dare look up at the mural above him; he started to regret staying out here instead of in the cabin with Zeb. But the Lasat would _know_ he wasn't sleeping, and definitely wouldn't leave him alone.

"You... you've withdrawn. You're walling yourself off." Ezra blinked, lowered his eyes. Cocked his head. Nodded. Once he would have vehemently denied it. Sabine knew him better than that. "You really shouldn't," she whispered. A hand snaked under the Dejarik table to grasp his own. She squeezed. Ezra swallowed again. The mural threatened to overwhelm him. Sabine drew close, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him close.

Ezra's eyes watered. He returned the embrace slowly, tightening his grip when his throat caught on a breath, because he knew he'd break if it didn't.

"Come on," she whispered, and he closed his eyes. Her touch was gentle; her smell was comforting. He couldn't breath without it.

"They're... they're gone..."

"...Yeah. They are. And you're still here." _Cry if you need to,_ remained unspoken between them.

Ezra'd never found himself so ready to indulge in her offer.

* * *

"Hey! Put that down!'

Even with his eyes closed, Ezra grinned.

"But I'm not touching it."

"Put the paint down!"

"But I'm not touching it!"

Sabine made a mad snatch for the floating can of spray paint, growling when it floated just a little higher. Just a _tiny_ bit out of her range. She turned a scowl over to Ezra, crossing her arms, but he was staring back at her with the most innocent not-innocent look in all the worlds, cocking his head slightly. "What?"

She narrowed her eyes, planting her hands on her hips and for the moment ignoring the half-finished painting behind her. Ever since she'd discovered the curiously formed rocks dotting Lothal were perfect canvases for painting on, there hadn't been a single one of them that had gone unmarked. When there wasn't a Jedi in training playing pranks on her painting equipment, that was.

He dared to give her the goofiest grin imaginable.

"You know perfectly well 'what,' you scruffy bantha-breeder."

"I'm not scruffy!"

She raised her eyebrow.

Ezra stuck his tongue out at her, but the canister of paint came floating back down slowly. She grabbed it, shaking it and her head simultaneously. She didn't bother trying to suppress the smile. "You know, for someone supposedly devoted to the good side of things, you play an unhealthy amount of pranks. I wonder what would happen if we didn't stop you from doing them."

"Oh, you didn't stop me." Sabine moved her gaze back to his area, scanning the air for anything else of hers that was floating- he grinned, eyes closed. "I just moved to a bigger target."

She yelped as the ground moved out from under her.

"Ezra Bridger put me down!"

"But I'm not touch-" _He_ yelped when she threw her paint sprayer at him, and she dropped as he fell backwards, concentration gone. Sabine thought she landed with just a tad more grace than him, however.

She smirked as she stood, crossing her arms in front of her as Ezra groaned, flat on his back. "I gotta say, if you're going to levitate someone, you should at least be pre _pared_ for a counter attack. Or have a plan of defense in case you get distracted."

"Right, right, _ow_ , but point taken." He struggled up, holding his head and only looking _mildly_ put out. Sabine, however, stared at his head, and the massive red spot on the leftmost side of his forehead. She didn't throw the canister _that_ hard, there shouldn't be any blood at all, bruising maybe, but not- _Oh._ Sabine bit her lip, and slapped her hand on over her mouth to try and suppress the giggles.

The canister had apparently sprayed him right in the face.

"What's so funny?" He asked, following her gaze and putting a hand up to what must have been a sticky side of his face. Her hand proved to be an inefficient barrier against laughter when she caught his momentary confusion and then shock- he quickly turned an affronted look towards her, pointing- a little off -at the red spot on his face. "You painted me!"

Sabine laughed. "But I never touched the canister!"

This time it was Ezra who scowled at her, amusement glinting around the borders of his eyes. "Two can play at that game!"

"Two already di- EZRA!"

It was her turn to scowl once again as nearly _all_ her canisters decided to dance with newfound life. He raised a smug little eyebrow, and Sabine lowered hers. "Like I said, all you need is a distraction, and then all your little hovering toys will come crashing back down."

"But this time I'm not gonna _be_ distracted- there's _nothing_ you can throw at me that I'm not expecting, now!"

Apparently he wasn't expecting her to tackle him.

The two rolled, flattening the grass around them as they struggled to come out on top. Sabine laughed as the victory went to her, some ways away from her painting station, and shook her head at a pinned Ezra below her. " _Never_ assume you're expecting _everything_ from a Mandalorian."

"Message received, oh Mighty Mando," he grunted, pouting and looking off to the side. Sabine's grin turned soft, and she blew a few strands of his hair away from the red spot.

"Lucky you this is one of my rare washable paints."

"Lucky me." His lips quirked upwards. "Kanan'd kill me if it wasn't."

"Mm." And she bent down and kissed him.

* * *

"Where's that explosion?!" Ezra barked into the commlink, deflecting another bolt. The advancing line of bucket-heads continued to crawl forwards through the hangar, pushing him outside into the landing bay- where there were nothing but enemies waiting for him. At first he growled at the static. Then he eyed his comm with annoyance. Had the thing shorted out on him?

 _Then_ he panicked.

If Sabine wasn't answering, it meant she was too bust fending off bucket-heads to reply (unlikely), their comms were being jammed, or she was-

"Spectre five!? Spectre five, can you hear me?" No answer; another foot backwards to the landing platform. "Spectre one?" _Karabast- they_ are _jamming our comms!_ Then it looked like he'd have to get their attention in some other fashion; he wouldn't hold out against the dozen or so stormtroopers for long.

Ezra ran out of the hangar, blade trailing behind him and flicking upwards just in time to deflect any shots heading towards his back. The sunlight burned his eyes, but they weren't the only things he used to help him see- the Force hummed to him as he wove inbetween cargo crates, making his way towards the back of the platform where he could leap atop the actual building itself. There was nothing that grabbed attention better than a boost in height.

A bolstered jump sent him atop the roof, stumbling slightly with his landing, but he wasn't out of the water yet. Somehow they'd known the _Ghost_ would make a target of the facility, and had readied every defense possible- including anti-air cannons fixed along the roof. Ezra had been banking on the fact that they would only target ships.

He cursed when they slowly began pointing their turrets in his direction.

Their rendezvous point was the landing bay just across the one he'd come from, so the quickest way there would definitely be a sprint across the roofs- and a sprint it was as he tried to get to his destination before the cannons locked on. His hopes raised exponentially, though, when he saw Kanan's blue blade and Sabine's bright armor on the opposite side of the landing platform; they stood a tremendously better chance together than they did off on their own.

Hearing the whir of the cannon behind him, Ezra leaped off the edge of the rood, pouring as much power into the jump as he could to try and escape the anti-aircraft blast-

-x-

"Ezra's not answering!" Sabine cried, mowing down a few more troopers as she and Kanan darted through the halls. The Jedi let loose some particularly colorful curse, deflecting and reflecting the bolts of the last few remaining troopers back at them. The both of them picked up their pace, dashing through the halls and hoping to make it to the rendezvous in time.

"They're jamming the communicators- we'll just have to hope Ezra makes it to the platform in time!"

A curdle of fear pooled in her stomach. She'd only run across Kanan in a stroke of luck, having had no idea the Imperials had actually set up some decent fortifications _within_ the base that required a speedy exit. Without his comms, Ezra wouldn't be likely to know that- unless, of course, he'd run across some trouble himself.

She threw herself at the panel connected to the closed door blocking them off from the landing pad, fingers tapping furiously into the security system to open it up. Kanan's lightsaber flickered back on when more bucket-heads came around the corner, but the both of them were already running out to the hangar, Sabine shooting the panel shut behind her.

"Kanan, what if he isn't h-"

Sabine jumped backwards as an orange blur came flying through the air, screaming. It took her a second to recognize the tumbling mass of limbs as Ezra. It took him a second longer to stand up and sway, blinking owlishly. "Hello!"

"What- how did you- _why_ -"

"Let's move!" Kanan called, and Ezra just grinned stupidly at her before running to his speeder.

 _I swear, there will never, ever be a day where he fails to confound me._

* * *

A cocky smile.

A warning too late.

An explosion.

A scream.

And now a heart-beat steadily pumping through the dozens of monitors.

Ezra paced the room, running his hands through his hair and desperately trying to remember one of the calming techniques Kanan had tried pounding in through his skull. It wasn't like he'd be able to use one; the medical bed was drawing all his focus and attention.

Or, rather, the alert Mandalorian sitting in it.

"That was too close- you could've gotten killed, if I hadn't caught you you would've- you would've-"

"Ezra."

He took a deep breath, closing his eyes and willing away the moisture. "I know this isn't the safest line of work, but that was- that was way, way too close."

"It was a close call. We've all had them before. They're nothing new-"

"But I can't keep on seeing you in a hospital bed!"

He'd immediately regretted raising his voice when Sabine raised a thin eyebrow. He was wincing and pacing even before she started talking again.

"So what would you have me do? Sit around inside the _Ghost_ while you go off fighting?"

"No, that's not-"

"Waiting for _you_ to come back from some crazy mission, wondering what kind of injuries you come home with because I wasn't there to cover your back?"

"That isn't-"

"You're not the only one scared of what happens in a mission, Ezra!"

"...I know." His shoulders slumped down, hands raising to rub his eyes tiredly. "I know... I just-" He shook his head, looking Sabine straight in the eye and letting loose the pent up breath that'd been keeping him going.

"I can't lose you."

Her eyes softened, and she beckoned him over with her head. Ezra complied, coming over to sit on her bedside and gladly returning the embrace she wrapped him in. "You won't," she promised softly, and Ezra just closed his eyes, pressing a kiss into her neck and just thankful, so thankful, that he still could.

* * *

It had all started out fine. Just a regular day. She'd finished a two-day art-piece, was smirking at Ezra's attempt at a handstand, and had gotten herself a nutri bar. She'd only just settled down into the rounded bench in the commons, calling him over for a game of Dejarik, when she'd noticed he'd gone deathly, deathly pale and rigid. Thoughts of a vision flitted through her head, but his eyes seemed painfully focused on the present. That had been when worry first numbed her fingers.

Then he'd slid slowly to the ground, and she was at his side in an instant, keeping a firm grip on his shoulder and desperately trying to understand why he was breathing so quickly.

"Ezra?! Ezra, what's wrong!?"

"So many- so many people," he whispered, eyes wide and brimming and staring at something she couldn't see. Sabine was debating on running for Kanan when Ezra snatched her hand in his own, looking her straight in the eyes.

"Sabine- they just killed-" his voice caught, his chest heaving, and Sabine shook him gently.

"Who killed? What's wrong?" He shook his head, and then placed it in his hands, trying to take deep breaths and failing. She'd never, _ever_ seen him get like this-

"Thousands- no," his voice was distant, his eyes blurred, " _millions_ of people just... just... _vanished..._ " Sabine didn't know what else to do but hold him as the Force showed him visions of an increasingly terrifying disaster. This was the one area she'd never known how to deal with, with him. Or even how to help him. Or how to even _start_.

But it was when the sobs came that she truly felt helpless.

And it had been Hera, grim-faced and ashen, walking in through the common doors with the news of Alderaan's destruction that had told her their fight with the Empire was forever changed.

* * *

 _Three years later..._

The earthen walls rained crumbling rocks on their heads, and the two Force-sensitives looked at each other, various stages of concern written into their faces.

"This mine's not going to hold much longer-"

"It has to!"

Ezra swayed a little as the trembling of the floor put him off balance. Deny it as he might, the old and weathered mine really wouldn't be able to keep itself upright for more than five minutes- ten if they were lucky. The Empire had gotten ruthless with the increase in rebel activity, and now no longer cared for the civilian lives they were endangering by bombing the mine- or their own troopers.

Kanan growled, looking back up through the shaft towards the groaning center of the mine. They were still loading supplies to the surface- and said supplies were still being loaded through the trembling shaft, overseen by Zeb and Sabine, plus a dozen sympathetic miners who had helped them plan the raid in the first place.

"We can't count on it for holding up as long as we need- I'll head up to the loading zone, keep the troopers off Hera's back, you go down and get everyone out! Tell them to leave the ores, we'll make do with what we have!"

Ezra nodded, and then the two of them sprinted off in separate directions. His balance got worse as the tremors increased in both speed and power; the bombers were getting smarter with their shots. Loose rocks and dirt slipped under his feet, but Ezra focused and kept himself moving through the narrow tunnels- Zeb and Sabine both were smart enough to get out when they had no other choice, but with the civilians tying them down they'd need all the help they could get to make a safe exit. Or at least, an exit with their lives.

He flew down a corner and nearly collided with a mass of purple fur- Zeb growled and backed away a few footsteps, his ears folded down in annoyance. A handful of miners trailed after him, all pushing large containers of ore.

"Where's Sabine? And the others?" Ezra asked, scanning the Lasat's entourage and not seeing the colorful Mandalorain anywhere. Zeb huffed and jerked his head back, gripping his Borifle tightly.

"She's tryin' to get them out alive; they're all convinced they can mine up the last of the deposit."

Ezra cursed as the mine trembled again, and multiple pairs of eyes glanced at the ceiling nervously. "Leave the ores- this place isn't going to last long, you all need to _move_!" Just in case they objected, Ezra accentuated his words with a little nudge from the Force- just a little something to get them going. Heads nodded and then they were running back up the shaft; Zeb stayed with him, eying him with the faintest amount of amusement.

"Never thought I'd see the little brat grow into a mock-leader."

"Never thought I'd see a Lasat turn grey- go with them, I'm going after Sabine." Zeb nodded and sighed, shaking his head. Ezra distinctly heard him mutter 'Age won't get rid of his snark, that's for sure,' before they both took off down the crumbling mine.

He really only had a vague idea where Sabine was- he'd only been down to the actual ore deposit site once, and every junction here looked alike. His connection with the Mandalorian helped point him in the right direction, though, and soon he found himself bounding into a marginally open cavern lined with miners on all sides.

Sabine stood in the center, standing toe-to-toe with one of the burliest humans Ezra'd ever seen and arguing vehemently. From what he was able to pick out before his intrusion, he was the reason they were stil down in the deposit.

"Everyone!"

Eyes immediately fixated on him- some traveling to the lightsaber on his belt, others towards the defining marks on his cheek. Just as long as they knew who he was. "Can't you hear the Empire bombing above you!? We need to leave _now!_ "

Mr. Burly puffed out his chest, sticking up his nose. "We will not abandon our ores, not when they are so crucial to the Resi-"

"Your lives are worth more than those ores! _Get out!_ "

Maybe it was his status, maybe it was common sense finally kicking in, or maybe it was because the rocky crags above them actually started cracking, but the majority of the miners took his orders and fled, abandoning their equipment. Burly snarled, but a chunk of ceiling crashing down broke off any retort he might have made.

Ezra just managed to catch ahold of it before the crushing of several humanoids could commence. Fortunately, it gave everyone else in the room the kick in the rear they needed to bolt up the shaft and towards the exit- unfortunately, it wasn't the only chunk falling.

"Move!" Sabine was shouting, and then the two of them collided as she threw herself at him, pushing the both of them out of the path of a falling chunk of deadly-deadly rock. He gasped as his grip on the first wedge was broken, though it didn't make much of a difference- the entire mine was collapsing, now.

It was times like these he was grateful his partner was Mandalorian, and had no hesitation whatsoever to literally drag him behind her. It rarely came to _that_ extreme (unless very, very bad things had happened), but Ezra himself being strung behind Sabine on a frighteningly normal basis. This time, though, her quick thinking wasn't enough- the mine was falling quicker than they could run, and by the time they'd made it towards the opening in the shaft, huge slabs of stone were already blocking their path, the ground tilting beneath them.

 _Aw karabast,_ he cursed, right before tackling Sabine into an empty pocket of space and only just avoiding near certain death.

The ceiling caved in around them, and Ezra only remembered pressing the both of them up against the only point in space not screaming danger at him, managing to find the one safe spot before his eyes glued shut trying to fight dust and consciousness...

"-zra! Ezra come on!"

His temple was sticky. The whole side of his head, more like- it made responding to Sabine difficult. Not trusting himself at the moment to reply with coherent words, Ezra settled for a sort of moan-grunt hybrid, raising a hand to his head and not surprised in the least to have it draw away bloody.

"Oh thank the stars- are you pinned?"

Left leg- check. Right leg- check. Left-

"One'm arms... elbow..."

Long ago he would have worried the Mandalorian might not have had any idea what he was saying. Now, he was just grateful she wasn't laughing at his attempts to talk- he knew she'd know. He might not be able to see her or accurately interpret his injuries at the moment, but he knew she'd know. A rock shifted next to him, and his eyes flew open as a sudden ping trilled down his spine-

"Stop!"

She stopped.

He breathed.

"Hold on- I think I can get through a different way." He winced as a new curtain of dust spewed across his field of vision. _After-tremors._ They weren't safe yet, though they may have avoided being squished for now. Ezra shook his head, blinking harshly and trying to pull himself together. He and Sabine had escaped a quick end narrowly- now they had to make sure it wasn't for nothing. Over the years, Ezra had learned it was down to a combination of luck, skill, and awareness that pulled them through disasters- he figured they'd just spent their luck, and their skills were next to useless in this sort of environment, so it was up to their levels of awareness that would pull them through and back to the _Ghost_.

The _Ghost_. "C'n you- contact th' others?" Ezra swallowed and ran his tongue over teeth, trying to wake himself up and get rid of the slur.

"There's just static-I think they're having problems of their own over there." A new fear curdled in his stomach- Zeb had still been in the halls, hadn't he? Was he alright? Kanan and Hera he trusted to look after themselves, and to keep the miners they were evacuating in check, but how far had the Lasat been from them?

 _Luck, skills, awareness._

A pink hand suddenly thrust itself into his vision, and he blinked at the sudden intrusion of light and color. More dust flew in front of him. "There we go- you feeling any danger-mojo?"

"...keep going,"

The hand and arm attached pushed itself against the ground, dragging a torso and head slowly across, waiting for him to tell her to stop. _Awareness._

Sabine grunted as she managed to pull herself through whatever crevice she'd found, drawing up next to him and panting slightly. Ezra frowned when he realized that he could, in fact, see her- there was light shining somewhere. Not brightly, probably somewhere down the hall, but some light fixture or another must have survived the cave-in if they were seeing through the passage. Maybe they still had some luck on their side after all.

"Arm doesn't look too bad, thankfully- you seeing fuzzy? Concussion or headache or anything?"

Ezra closed his eyes as Sabine shifted slightly, feeling the slight movements she made with the slab of stone on his arm. It didn't _feel_ too bad either, if anything there was just a sort of numb buzz tingling from his elbow down. Though he supposed not feeling _anything_ could be as bad as feeling something. As it was he was just grateful the only pain was radiating from the sore spot on his head.

Also not really a 'good' thing.

"Not a concussion, don' think, but... how much blood?" He felt Sabine pause above him as the Mandalorain turned to take stock of his head.

"A fair bit. You might have a skull fracture- there's no swelling though, and no _excessive_ bleeding, so it might just be minor. Does it hurt?"

"I got poked in th' head bya rock- 'course it hurts. Not bad, but it'sa rock."

"Then I guess you'll be heading straight to the infirmary once this is over." He heard a faint sigh. "I swear, you get yourself into more trouble than you're worth."

"Aw, love you too."

"Hush." Ezra grunted as he finally _did_ feel his arm, once Sabine had resumed her activities. She didn't bother to baby him, but she moved quickly and efficiently, moving the apparent moderately sized rock off his arm. He didn't hear any curses, so he assumed nothing _too_ bad had happened to it. His suspicion was further proved when she started hoisting him up into a sitting position with no comment; he most likely only had some really bad bruises, maybe a few bone bruises, but nothing major.

His sitting motion came to an abrupt stop a few inches short of perpendicularity, something he blamed entirely on the low, low ceiling bits positioned around them. Sabine was crouching next to him, helmet slightly dinged and scuffed but otherwise looking just a little dusty. That was a plus, at least.

"Well, you don't actually look too bad," she said, cocking her head slightly. He raised an eyebrow up at her, humorless. She hummed.

"I guess that makes our main problem just moving the rocks out of the way, then." This time Ezra nodded, casting his eyes up at the rocks around them and straining his eyes slightly, wishing for Sabine's amazing helmet. There might be a light source nearby, but it really wasn't too bright- just powerful enough to prevent them from being in total darkness.

"Well, you c'n see'n th dark- what's it like? You think you c'n move a piece?" Sabine sucked in a breath, gazing at the tiny empty space around them.

"Maybe. They're pretty small, medium pieces, though- it's a miracle we even had _this_ much of a pocket to stay in. Move the wrong piece and this'd all come tumbling down." Ezra was inexplicably reminded of an old children's tune they'd used to dance to in the streets, and he shook it away. Best not tempt the Force.

"Well, I honestly don' feel up to playin 'Do or Die'. Kanan an' the others should-" Ezra blinked as another round of tremors made an alarmingly thick layer of dust fall over the both of them.

"The bombers are making another round," Sabine whispered, and they both inched closer to one another as the wall vibrated slightly behind them. It didn't sound or feel too direct, but with the unstable network of stone hanging all around them, even small vibrations could prove catastrophic.

The two waited in silence, their hands somehow finding the others, and waited out the quakes. When they had mostly stilled except for a few muffled booms in the distance, they found it sufficiently safe to start small movements again. "Kanan and the others should be coming for us soon; it'd be best to let him handle things, seeing as he could... actually... see what he'd be doing." Sabine nodded and sighed, settling down next to him.

"How long d'you think it'll take?"

Ezra fidgeted, getting more comfortable and trying desperately not to touch anything around him. "Well," he said, speaking slowly- he noticed it helped his slur, "they'll have to take off to deal with those bombers. I don't think any one of them's crazy enough to stay down here with those Imps- scratch that, they might be crazy enough. So anywhere between a half an hour and a few seconds, I guess."

Sabine hummed, and then popped off her helmet. Ezra regretted he couldn't see her hair too well in the abysmal lighting- he really liked the purple combo she'd dyed it. It didn't stop him from looking, nor did it stop her from twisting a strand in front of her face. "It's getting kind of long," she mused, and he smiled. He'd asked her once why she didn't have it out long- wouldn't there be more material to die? But she'd launched into an explanation about how long hair could get you killed in the battlefield- in several different ways -and had left it at that.

She also didn't like it puffing up too much inside her helmet.

"You could always wear a ponytail, like me and Kanan," he suggested, wobbling his head in a suggestive manner. He was mildly pleased when it didn't hurt too much to do so- though he could see Sabine's raised eyebrow even _without_ seeing her face. He knew she was smiling, too.

"That'd make half the crew 'tail wearers- and the other three _can't_ have ponytails."

"Unless you do something really, _really_ weird with Zeb."

"I think two 'tails is enough. Besides, it's _your_ thing- yours and Kanan's. It's your Jedi-thing." Ezra smiled lightly, shrugging. Sabine cocked her head, however, and Ezra hummed in questioning as she shivered.

"What?"

" _Don't_ think of Chopper in a ponytail." Ezra frowned, the image popping up in his head despite Sabine's warnings- and then drastically altered at her next words- "It's not so much the image that's frightening, but it's whose hair he would've had to pull to get one. And I think we all know how overboard he likes to get whenever he's doing... _anything_." Ezra shivered slightly, remembering the way the droid had near singlehandedly won battles by displaying ruthless and reckless abandon for organic life- and suddenly the act of getting a simple ponytail turned sinister. The two of them burst out laughing.

Force, she was perfect.

Ezra's stomach rolled on itself, thinking back to the hours of research he'd done in his spare time- he'd committed everything he needed for this to memory, hoping that he'd find the right time, the right situation, the right surroundings...

"Aw, man- chest piece has a dent. I _hate_ buffing out the dents, always manages to rub off some of the paint..." Ezra listened to Sabine grumble next to him, smiling lightly at her complaints- she honestly didn't seem to be in too much worry over their predicament. She was completely confident in Kanan and the others to come get them, and so had settled down. She wasn't like the other girls he'd seen in the market, who'd freak out at the first sign of something wrong. She wasn't dumb, she wasn't skittish, she wasn't afraid to do what she needed- she _was_ brave, and loyal, and loving, and just... _amazing_...

"-and I guess it's time to repaint it anyways... Ezra?"

He breathed out a jumble of nerves, with plenty more to spare jumping around in his stomach. He'd known her nearly six years and now- now was as good a time as any.

"Sabine- I, uh..."

~x~

She'd heard Ezra stutter and trip over his words plenty of times. Near half of those times were caused by some outrageous head injury or another. It wasn't really out of the ordinary for him to stumble around talking like a blind bantha- this time, though, Sabine couldn't help but get the feeling something else was up.

"There's- there's something I've been, uh, thinking about for a while, and, um, well..." Sabine looked at his head again. She couldn't see anything on it, but that didn't stop the reflex.

Ezra breathed out a singular laugh. "I spent all that time researching, and now I can't even say anything..."

"Ezra? What are you talking about? Were you holding back about your head?"

"What? No, no no- I just..." He laughed again, scratching his head with the back of his hand. Sabine narrowed her eyes at the action, but with the lack of any of his usual signs of pain, she let the action go. Besides, he seemed to be pretty focused on whatever he was trying to get out there- and serious was an emotion so rarely displayed except for the battlefield. Something big was on his mind.

"See, I know- this isn't really the ideal place, or time, and I don't think anyone's ever done this while near buried alive- well, maybe some of the aliens who live on planets with the cities under the ground, but I don't even know if they _do_ those kinds of things. If they do, I'm pretty sure they don't do it in the same way- well, of course they don't, they'd ha-"

"Ezra, where are you going with this?"

"Right, right, sorry." He took a deep breath through his nose and then fidgeted towards her. Or at least she thought he did- she blinked rapidly as his blue blade lit up the small space, carefully angled so as to not disturb their fragile surroundings. She smiled at the small smirk on his face, though took the opportunity to carefully analyze the mat of blood on his head. It honestly did just look like a skull fracture- something to be looked at later, of course, when they had the proper tools and equipment- "Can't believe it took me this long to remember I have a literal _glow stick_... anyways..." Ezra cleared his throat. Sabine shifted to look at him better. He bit his lip.

"Like I said, this really isn't the right place, or the right time, or anything, but these days I don't think we'll _ever_ have a perfect anything... Sabine, of Clan Wren, House Vizsla... Mav gar, to kaat aliit ti te gai, kaat riduur?"

Her breath catches at the admittedly halting Mandalorian, at the sudden exposure to her native language. It takes her a second to figure out exactly what he's saying, as rusty as she is. She hasn't spoken Mandalorian except for small curses in ages- but when the meaning ticks in her head, Sabine finds herself blinking rapidly.

She'd never thought she'd have heard the traditional marriage proposal in any context other than on holo-dramas.

"Ezra," if he had loth-cat ears they would have perked upwards, "you are the most amazing person I've ever met. You are smart, you are quirky, and I won't ever meet a single person like you. But.'

"There's a but, huh?" He smiled painfully. Sabine shook her head.

"But gosh darn it if you don't have the densest head in the galaxy. You've never, _ever_ had to ask to marry me." His eyebrows furrowed, ever so slightly, and Sabine bent down to kiss him before finishing her statement. "I've always been yours- and I'll be damned if I let anyone else take you."

Ezra laughed, leaning into her and smiling one of his genuine smiles- the ones he so rarely used and the ones Sabine treasured. "So, is that a yes then?"

"Yes, you idiot. I love you."

"I love you too."

"Don't I know it."


End file.
